Falling Out of Time
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Post-series, my Pendulum Swings verse. Noa's mother uses the Chinese magical item of life to restore him, much to everyone's shock. While they're still reeling from this development, Yami Marik gets hold of the item of death to cause a calamity. Now everyone must find a way to save both their fallen friends, while not allowing the tragedy to tear the rest of them apart.
1. Chapter 1

**Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Falling Out of Time**

**By Lucky_Ladybug**

**Notes: The characters from the show are not mine. Other characters and the story are mine! This is part of my **_**Pendulum Swings**_** verse that redeems the Big Five. It's a direct sequel to **_**Fade Into the Rising Sun**_** and continues plot points introduced in it and in **_**Light the Sky With Silver**_**, although probably the main thing readers should know is that there's a series of Chinese magical objects and two are still missing.**

**Chapter One**

It was a quietly peaceful night at Lector's house, something all of the Big Five sorely needed after the recent calamity of Seto being stabbed by a magical dagger. They had spent the day at Penguin World and Lector had just returned from dutifully taking Vivian Wong to dinner—something he had promised her he would consider if she helped them find the antidote to the poison on the dagger. The others had all been anxiously waiting for his return, hoping that Vivian wouldn't have made any inappropriate advances or propositions again, and Lector had tried to dissuade their concerns upon his arrival. Now he was sorting through the day's mail. When he saw an envelope from his sister Evangeline, he opened it in surprise. She didn't usually write, preferring to call or text.

Several old pictures fell out across the kitchen counter, along with a note. Lector looked at the note first.

_I found these while going through the hotel's pictures. I thought you should have them, Démas._

_You were such a cute kid! The other one's cute too. You two sure hit it off. I wonder what happened to him?_

_Love, Evangeline_

Lector picked up the nearest picture to him, a subconscious smile tugging at his lips. He had been six then. The other boy looked about two. He remembered when these had been taken. A family had been vacationing in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and their little boy had kept sitting in Lector's family's hotel lobby, playing with oversized building blocks over and over again. He formed them into towers, bridges, houses, anything that was possible. According to his parents, he wasn't social at all and preferred to stay alone and just build things. They had been a little concerned, but hoped it was just a phase he'd grow out of as he got older.

Lector had been bored and wandered over and the younger boy had looked up defensively, as if thinking this bigger kid was going to take his blocks. Lector still remembered the strange way his entire face had lit up upon really seeing Lector. He had instantly taken a liking to Lector and had actually pushed some of his blocks over to him, wanting him to play. They had played for some time until both had tired out. Then they had just curled up on the floor with the blocks and fallen asleep. One of the pictures showed the kid snuggled against Lector and draping an arm around him.

Lector turned it over. _Démas and Robbie,_ was the inscription.

He always wondered what had happened to the boy too. All of their parents had thought the bonding adorable, and Robbie's parents had been overjoyed that he actually wanted to be with another kid. Why hadn't they stayed in contact?

Probably because the family didn't have the money to travel a lot and Robbie was too young to write. By the time he was old enough to do so, he likely didn't even remember the encounter. Still, it was a shame. The friendship should have been encouraged and developed. There would have been ways. The parents could have written for Robbie until he was old enough. And Lector had been old enough to write.

He sighed and shook his head. Hopeless wishes, like so many things.

Nesbitt wandered into the kitchen. "What's that?" he asked.

"Evangeline sent some pictures she found of me playing with another boy," Lector explained. "I've always wondered what happened to him. I wish we could have stayed in touch."

Nesbitt took the picture from him and then went completely stiff, the color draining from his face. "That's you?!" he choked out.

"Yes," Lector frowned. "I don't look that funny, do I?"

Nesbitt just shook his head and set the picture down, his hands trembling. As Lector stared in shock, Nesbitt opened his wallet and took out a well-worn identical picture, placing it next to the first.

Lector looked back and forth between the copies. It was unbelievable, but now the truth was obvious. He picked up Nesbitt's picture and turned it over. The ink-written inscription had long ago faded into an unreadable mass.

"Robbie," Lector whispered in disbelief. "Robert Nesbitt. . . ." He stared at his friend. "It was you! . . ."

Nesbitt sat down next to him. "My parents kept the pictures they'd been given and told me the story all the time," he said. "I wanted to have a picture too and I've kept it all these years. A memento of one of the few times I was like other kids," he added with a wry grunt.

Lector started to smile. ". . . That day, you looked at me like you already knew me," he mused. "Like I was an old friend returning at last."

Nesbitt shook his head. "I can't explain that."

"You must have sensed that it was special for us to be together . . . that we would form an unbreakable bond," Lector said. "As much as I never really believed in fate, we must have been meant to meet."

"I actually do remember that day . . . vaguely," Nesbitt said. "It's one of the few memories I have dating back that far. It _did_ feel like you were my friend . . . that I'd come home, even, and I belonged there with you. I wanted to be with you more than I wanted to join the parties and parades. I was devastated when it was time for us to go home."

"You cried and cried," Lector agreed. "And I was upset too. I knew I was losing something very special. I remember running up to the attic and just hiding there for a while." He shook his head. "I wish our parents had found ways for us to keep in touch. . . ."

"Instead, mine wanted to focus on finding ways to get me interested in the kids back home," Nesbitt said. "They thought that since I finally liked someone, maybe there was hope." He frowned. ". . . I wonder if I met any of the others as a kid. I know I went right back to being unsociable when we got home, maybe partially out of defiance at having to leave you . . . although it seems like I kind of liked a kid I met in one of the playgroups. I remember he had glasses. Now I wonder if that was Johnson."

Lector chuckled. "I suppose that's possible. All the rest of you grew up in the same city and probably not that far apart from each other. Why couldn't you have met sometimes?"

"But by the time you and I met again, we had no idea we'd met in the past and we didn't even like each other." Nesbitt clenched a fist on the countertop. "Why couldn't we have sensed what we did as kids?"

"I suppose because we were all grown-up and we didn't listen to such feelings anymore, especially when we were each so annoyed by the other," Lector said. "Although I did know I had to move to Domino City to find work. Somehow I knew it couldn't be any other place. And I did sense something special about you as well as all the others, even though I could scarcely believe it at first."

"At least there was that," Nesbitt said.

Lector hesitated. "Did you ever feel that way about any of us?"

Nesbitt pondered on that. "I think I did," he realized. "I didn't understand what I was feeling, but when I was around one or more of you, I felt . . . like I was home."

"Even with me?" Lector countered.

"Yes," Nesbitt said. "Oh, I denied it tooth and nail at first, but when I started to see that you weren't the cold and hard person I'd thought, I couldn't deny it any more."

Lector smiled a bit.

"Although I never did connect that feeling with the kid I still missed," Nesbitt frowned. "I never once thought it was you."

"Well, at least we like each other now," Lector said. "We finally found again what we had back then."

Nesbitt nodded. "That's something to be grateful for."

Lector smiled a bit as he looked at the pictures. "Look at that. You even fell asleep the same way you do now if we ever happen to be on the same bed." He pointed to the arm draped over him. That only happened during traumatic experiences—but they went through so many that sometimes it seemed like it happened more often than it did.

Nesbitt flushed a bit in embarrassment. "I just wanted to be as close to you as possible. It was unusual for me to be that affectionate with anyone."

"It still is," Crump chirped as he and the others wandered into the kitchen. "But we're glad you've been lettin' us see you're a big softie. What's this?" He peered at the pictures on the counter.

"Nesbitt and I have been discovering we met as children," Lector explained.

"This is the two of you?" Johnson picked up a picture in surprise.

"Yeah," Nesbitt said.

Gansley smiled a bit. "Somehow I'm not surprised. With how close you are, it suits you."

"No kidding," Crump said. "Wow, you kids were really nuts about each other."

"I wonder what might have changed in our lives had our parents made sure we kept in touch," Lector mused.

"Maybe you never would've had trouble getting along," Crump said. "But maybe you would've, as you got older and realized you had opposite views on how to deal with stuff."

"There's no way to know," Nesbitt said. "It's probably better we didn't stay in touch. My mother would have pushed for us to get together as a couple." He grimaced. "She just can't grasp that any true relationship can be as close and as important as something romantic."

"But we know differently," Lector said.

Nesbitt hesitated. ". . . In spite of the trouble she would have caused, I wish I'd had my friend with me all through my life," he confessed. "I wish I'd had all my friends."

Lector smiled a bit sadly. "I certainly do."

"Boy, I'm sure we all do!" Crump exclaimed. "You might have been antisocial because you wanted to be, Nesbitt, but I sure wasn't. Everybody hated me and I hated that!"

"Do you suppose most, if not all, of us could have met as children?" Johnson wondered.

"I was just wondering if I met you at a playgroup my parents made me go to," Nesbitt said. "There was only one kid there I kind of liked, and he had glasses."

"It could have been me," Johnson said. "I'll have to ask my parents about the playgroups they took me to."

"I was already 19 when you were born, Nesbitt," Gansley mused.

"And I was 14," Crump added.

"But it's still not impossible that we could have met," Gansley said. "We could have passed each other in a store or sat near each other in a restaurant and we wouldn't have ever known."

"That's true," Nesbitt said.

"Anyway, the most important thing is that we know each other now," Lector said.

Everyone agreed on that.

"And you've known Lector for over twenty years, Nesbitt," Johnson said. "That's not bad at all."

"No, it isn't," Nesbitt said. "Although I know we both wish we'd liked each other from the first."

Lector nodded. "I wish a lot of things that can't ever be. But I'm glad that I finally know what became of Robbie." He smiled.

"I'm glad I know the truth now too," Nesbitt said. He took back his old picture, staring at it in a new round of disbelief. To think that he had been carrying this around all these years, never knowing the other boy had been by his side for so long now. . . .

"So," Crump said as he sank down on another stool at the counter, "any word on what the other missing Chinese magical items do?" He picked up one of the pictures, staring at the two kids while smiling fondly behind his moustache.

"When I took Vivian Wong to dinner, she said the other two are a crane and a fox," Lector said. "The crane is on a tiara and it's similar to the phoenix in Chinese mythology. The fox is on a whip handle, and that item represents death."

"Life and death?" Crump grimaced. "That's pretty hefty stuff."

"What exactly do they do?" Gansley frowned. "Grant life and take it away?"

"Something like that, I suppose," Lector said. "She didn't tell me more. I had the feeling she might not have known more and was too prideful to say so. Or I could be wrong and she wanted to proposition me for that information, but she decided to save that for later."

"If she'd clean up her act, I might be interested in her," Crump said. "She really is a pretty girl."

"Well, she didn't try to proposition me at all at dinner," Lector said. "She was actually on very good behavior. But whether or not that will last is something I wouldn't count on."

"That figures," Crump sighed.

"I wouldn't trust her from here to the refrigerator," Gansley said flatly. "But hopefully she was telling the truth about the other items."

"That doesn't solve the problem of where they are, though," Johnson said. He worriedly pushed up his glasses.

"It sure doesn't," Lector drawled with a sigh. "Let's just hope they haven't fallen into the wrong hands."

xxxx

Mokuba sighed happily as he walked down the street on the winter's night. It was cold and snowy and more snow was forecast, so he hoped he could have a fun snow day with Marik on the morrow. Seto was still recovering from being poisoned and stabbed, and Mokuba wanted to make sure he kept resting, so he hadn't even asked Seto to join in. He knew Seto would try to do so, even if he shouldn't.

Mokuba knew he probably shouldn't be out this late, but he wanted to check on Lector. The man didn't live that far away and Mokuba knew he'd taken Vivian out to dinner out of politeness. Mokuba couldn't help wanting to know how it had gone.

He wanted to believe things were going to be peaceful for a while, although he doubted it when there were still magical items at large. If it wasn't for that, however, things were seeming more and more amazing, with Seto and Téa drawing closer together and Seto and Joey coming to a better understanding. If only the disasters would stop happening, life would be incredible. Mokuba had to take whatever enjoyment he could in between problems.

Movement up ahead caught his eye and he jumped. He had almost reached Lector's house, and someone seemed to be loitering about the gates. Someone who looked all-too-familiar, and yet he was someone who surely wouldn't be there. Mokuba shook his head, but the sight remained.

"It's gotta be all the stress," he said to himself. "It's really getting to me."

Still, he came closer. As he crunched through the snow, the figure violently flinched and turned. Now he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Mokuba . . ."

Mokuba gasped. "It _is_ you! Noa . . ." He perked up. "Are you here for another visit? I guess the barrier between the worlds must be pretty thin again after what just happened, huh?"

Noa stared at him. "What just happened?!" he exclaimed.

"Seto being poisoned," Mokuba said in confused surprise. "Didn't you already know about that? Isn't that why you're here, to check up on everybody?"

Noa's gaze darted from side to side. "I . . ." He looked back at the house. "I shouldn't have come. I'm sorry, Mokuba. Please forget I was here!" With that, he turned and ran back through the snow into the darkness of the night.

Mokuba stared after him. "Noa . . ."

It was then that he saw the impossible. Noa had left footprints in the snow. But . . . a ghost wouldn't leave footprints. . . .

"No way," he gasped. "Noa's alive?!"

He started to chase after Noa, running alongside the footprints. But up ahead they stopped and Noa darted into a waiting cab. It pealed off, spraying snow in all directions. Mokuba stood staring, his heart pounding in his disbelief.

"Noa can't be alive," he said aloud to the scenery. "And if he is . . . why doesn't he want anyone to know it?!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Mokuba still wanted to check on Lector, so he returned to the house and rang the bell at the gate, badly shaken. The maid soon let him in and he stumbled up the walk to the porch.

This wasn't a good idea, he decided. Lector would be able to tell something was amiss. And when Noa had begged Mokuba to forget he'd been there, Mokuba wondered if he really needed to comply. For Noa to make such a request, he must have a good reason.

Lector himself opened the door and smiled down at the boy. "Hello, Mokuba," he greeted.

Mokuba gave him a genuine smile. "Hi, Lector. How did dinner go?" He stamped the snow off his boots on the welcome mat and stepped into the entryway.

"Well, it certainly could have been worse," Lector remarked. "Miss Wong was on her best behavior, although I'm not sure whether to believe she's turning over a new leaf or not."

Mokuba made a face. "I would say not. It's pretty hard for me to forget that she showed up saying she'd tell us the antidote for Seto only if you would be her love slave."

"That isn't easy to forget," Lector agreed in disgust. "She hasn't given any indication that she feels sorry for her outrageous behavior."

"But you still figured you had to take her to dinner because she tried to help later," Mokuba said.

Lector sighed. "It was the honorable thing to do. At least I only promised that one date. I have no intention of giving her any more of them."

"Tomorrow she'll probably be bugging Atem again, or Yugi," Mokuba said with a roll of his eyes. "I hope she'll leave Seto alone. He doesn't need that kind of stress right now."

"How is he doing today?" Lector asked.

"He's getting better," Mokuba smiled. "He's still weak and he's actually resting. Roland and I've been handling most of the company stuff."

Lector found it both amazing and concerning that Seto was consenting to rest. The boy always overworked himself, no matter what anyone said to try to get him to stop. Now he must know that his body simply wasn't up to the task.

"I hope you still have plenty of time for your schoolwork," Lector chose to say instead of anything about Seto resting.

"Oh yeah," Mokuba assured him. "Seto had Roland make sure of that."

Lector frowned as he watched Mokuba. The boy was definitely trying to come off casual and fine, but Lector could sense some kind of nervousness or anxiety about him. "If you're worried about your brother, I can drive you home," he offered. "It was late for you to walk over here by yourself."

"That's okay," Mokuba said. "I like that you live so close."

Lector smiled a bit. "So do I, but I don't want to risk anything happening to you. Does your brother know you decided to walk over here so late at night?"

Mokuba shifted and started to rock. "Um . . . well . . ."

"I didn't think so." Lector shook his head. "I'm sure he wouldn't have allowed it."

"You're probably right," Mokuba said in resignation.

"Come on," Lector said fondly. "I had better get you back before he realizes you're not there and starts to worry."

Mokuba finally smiled. "Well, okay." He would enjoy the time with Lector, and if Lector just thought his nervousness was because of concern for Seto, that was all the better when he wasn't sure whether to keep Noa's secret or not.

"Where's everybody else?" he asked.

"I believe Crump's watching _Happy Feet_, Gansley's checking the stock market, Johnson is . . . looking over a law book, I think . . . and Nesbitt is designing something or another in my home office," Lector replied.

"Oh. That's cool," Mokuba said. "Is he going to make some awesome new ride for Penguin World?"

"I'm not sure what he's designing right now," Lector said honestly.

"It must be nice how you guys all stay together and just rotate whose house you're at," Mokuba said. "I hope me and Seto can always live together."

Lector looked a bit amused, but also touched. "Well, the mansion certainly has enough space, even if both of you end up getting married someday," he said.

"I don't know if I will," Mokuba said. "I guess we'll see."

Lector nodded. "We will," he mused. He didn't want to patronize the boy with any of that overused tripe about how of course he'd get married someday and very soon now he'd start getting interested in romance. Nesbitt never had, and Lector couldn't say he was terribly interested himself. They were both happy and fulfilled with each other and their other friends. For all they'd know, Mokuba might prefer to stay single and just enjoy his brother and their company. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Mokuba was actually the vice president.

Mokuba smiled, looking pleased with Lector's thoughtfulness.

Lector collected his coat and hat. "I'll just let someone know I'm going out," he said.

"Okay," said Mokuba, and followed him to the nearest room with an occupant.

"Mokuba dropped in to visit," Lector told Crump in the den. "I'm going to take him home now."

"Sure thing," Crump said, never looking away from the television. But he lifted a hand in Mokuba's general direction and absently waved. "Hey there, kid."

"Hi," Mokuba said. He found it amusing that Crump was so captivated by what was usually thought of as a kids' film, even though he knew Crump watched anything with penguins again and again.

"It's been a pleasant evening since I got back," Lector told Mokuba as they stepped out into the night. A light snow was already starting to fall. "Nesbitt and I discovered we met as children when his parents were vacationing in New Orleans."

Mokuba's eyes widened. "Really? That's so cool!"

"Yes, we were both very surprised, but very happy by the news," Lector said. He pulled his coat closer around himself. "Should we drive or walk?"

"Well . . ." Mokuba looked up at the snowflakes. He loved walking in the snow, but he knew Lector didn't find it as thrilling. And after the experience Lector had had of being lost in Domino Canyon in a blizzard, he doubted Lector wanted to be out in snow any more than he had to be.

Lector could easily pick up on Mokuba's conflict. "We'll walk," he determined with a bit of a smile.

Mokuba started. "If you're sure," he said.

"It's fine," Lector said. "I enjoy walking."

They got outside the gate, where the footprints were still visible in the collected snow. Lector quirked an eyebrow. "Two sets of children's footprints?"

"Um . . ." Mokuba looked away. He could hardly bluff his way out of that sight. If Lector point-blank asked him if one set was his, he didn't want to lie. Lector trusted him.

Indeed, Lector gave him a Look. "What happened here, Mokuba? You know, don't you?"

Mokuba sighed, his shoulders slumping. "He asked me not to tell. . . . I didn't say I wouldn't, but . . . I wasn't sure what the right thing to do was. . . ."

Lector frowned. With a child he didn't get along as well with, he would definitely be more stern. But with Mokuba, someone he understood well and trusted and even loved, he wasn't fully sure how to react. It was obvious that whatever had happened was agonizing him as he tried to figure out how to handle it. This, most likely, was at least some of why he had been on edge tonight, rather than for his agony to solely be because of Seto still recovering.

"Do you know why he was here, at least, Mokuba?" Lector finally asked.

"No, I don't," Mokuba said, shaking his head. "He was just standing here looking through the gates at your house. . . ."

"Why would any child do that?" Lector wondered.

Mokuba shifted. ". . . Can you think of any that would?"

"Aside from you, no," Lector retorted. "And I can't imagine why you would be so concerned about protecting them, unless for some reason you knew them."

Mokuba kept looking away, looking sad and guilty.

Lector stared at him. "You do know them," he realized.

Finally Mokuba made up his mind. "Oh Lector . . . !" He looked up sorrowfully at his friend. "I don't want to keep it from you. You have a right to know. . . . Just . . . please don't think I'm crazy or something. . . ."

"Now why would I think that?" Lector frowned more. This was very strange.

"Because . . ." Mokuba shuddered. "Because it was Noa!" He shut his eyes tightly.

Lector rocked back, thunderstruck. _"What?! Noa?!"_

Mokuba nodded. "He was just standing there looking in, and when I caught up and saw him, he acted worried . . . scared, even. He begged me to forget he'd been there and he ran off. I tried to chase him, but he got into a cab and left. . . ." He shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Lector! I couldn't figure out what happened or how he could be here. . . . I mean, he left footprints, so he . . . he wasn't a ghost. . . . I figured something had to be wrong or he wouldn't have wanted it to stay a secret, and . . . I just didn't know what to do!"

Lector just stared. He knew Mokuba was telling the truth, and the footprints backed up his story anyway, but . . . how could it be?! Noa was dead, and had been dead for years! There wasn't any way to bring him back now! His body was gone!

He stumbled back against the gate, overwhelmed. Actually, there had been a way, he remembered. But Duke had used that way—an amethyst from a Pharaoh's tomb—to bring back his friend David. And that amethyst was gone, crushed in the collapse of said tomb. . . .

". . . Wait a minute," he gasped.

Mokuba started and slowly looked up. "Lector?"

"The crane tiara," Lector exclaimed. "Vivian Wong said that one of the missing items is a crane tiara. The crane in Chinese mythology is like the phoenix. She wouldn't say exactly what that item does, but what if it restores life?!"

"Oh man." Mokuba's eyes went wide. "So . . . who used it? Noa's mom? How would she get it?!"

"I think there are a lot of questions that need answering right now," Lector said. He took Mokuba's hand and turned back to the house. "Let's go back inside and call everybody. We need to have a meeting about this."

Mokuba went willingly, all the while hoping he had done the right thing by telling what he had seen. If Noa was really back because his mother had used one of the missing items, maybe that information getting out would go poorly for both of them.

xxxx

The rest of the Big Five were bowled over and bewildered when Lector and Mokuba came back inside and gathered them together to hear the news. Even knowing that the crane tiara may have been responsible still didn't make it any less shocking.

"What is this?! Noa's alive?!" Crump yelped.

"Why would he come here?" Nesbitt wondered.

"Maybe to say he was sorry again?" Mokuba suggested. "Or just to see Lector . . . tell him he's back. . . ."

"Only he decided for some reason that he couldn't?" Johnson said.

"But why would he?" Lector exclaimed. "He made peace with me . . . with all of us! I'd be overjoyed for him to be back!"

"Let's examine this from all angles," Gansley said. "Suppose the tiara was used to bring him back. Perhaps his mother stole it and he's worried she'll get in trouble."

Mokuba winced. "Oh yeah. . . . That could be a problem. . . ."

"Hey, yeah," Crump said. "And what if there's some rigid condition for his return, such as that she has to keep it at all times? Like how Yami Bakura has to keep the Infinity Ring to stay alive until he proves himself in this big battle."

Mokuba looked down. "Oh man. . . . That'd be awful. . . ."

"Especially since the Chinese government wants it back," Johnson said.

Lector slumped back, overwhelmed by all of these heartbreaking theories. It was bad enough for Noa's mother to have lost him once, but to think she had him back when she might not be able to keep him? He couldn't imagine how devastating that would be. He wasn't sure he could stand it in her position. And it would be terrible for Noa as well, since on many occasions he had expressed the longing to be alive again. . . .

"To have him back for any time at all would be a great gift," Gansley said, "but of course neither of them would want it to only be temporary." He started to get up. "I say we should go see her."

"That's about all we can do," Johnson agreed.

"And we'll need to tell Yugi and all the others," Nesbitt added.

Lector nodded vaguely, still overwhelmed. "Yes. . . . Let's do those things. . . ."

Mokuba looked up at him, worried. "Are you okay, Lector?"

Lector sighed, holding a hand to his forehead. "I can't say that I am, Mokuba. . . . I'm worried about Noa's mother, and Noa. . . ."

"And you're probably also thinking about the night Noa was hit, aren't you?" Nesbitt growled.

"Yes," Lector admitted.

Crump laid a hand on Lector's shoulder. "It figures this would bring up a lot of bad memories. I'm sorry, Buddy. . . ."

"Well . . ." Lector looked to him. "There's more important things to worry about right now than me. Let's go see Mrs. Anderson." After the divorce, Gozaburo's ex-wife had gone back to her maiden name. She also lived next-door to Johnson's parents, making for an interesting situation.

"I wonder if my parents know about this," Johnson said as they collected their coats and prepared to leave.

"I don't see how they wouldn't know something," Gansley grunted. "Although if everything is supposed to be so hush-hush, they might not know everything."

Mokuba bit his lip. "I wonder if I should tell Seto right now or if that would just get him upset. . . . I don't want to do anything that would make it harder for him to get better. . . ."

"Of course not," Lector soothed. "But Mr. Wheeler or one of the others might tell him if you don't."

"Yeah," Mokuba slowly acknowledged. "Well, maybe I can ask them not to say anything and I'll talk to Seto after we see Mrs. Anderson. But right now I can tell him I'm with you, so he won't worry."

"Alright," Lector consented.

"Or maybe we should just go see Mrs. Anderson ourselves and then tell everyone afterwards," Johnson suggested. "It might be overwhelming for her if we bombard her with the entire group. And maybe it would be better to get the facts straight before we tell all our friends that Noa is alive."

"That's a good point," Gansley said. "Let's do it that way."

Mokuba quickly tapped off a text message to Seto. "Okay," he agreed. "Let's go."

xxxx

No one was sure what they were going to discover when they drove to the street where Mrs. Anderson and Johnson's parents lived. It was a nice, peaceful middle-class neighborhood, but despite the late hour there were still lights at many of the houses. Mrs. Anderson's house, however, was dark—at least in the front.

"Maybe they're not home," Mokuba suggested.

"We'll soon find out." Nesbitt went ahead of them and onto the porch, where he rang the doorbell. The others quickly gathered around him.

"How are we going to tactfully approach things?" Lector wondered. Nesbitt wasn't known for his tact, but even trying to be polite, this was a delicate subject.

No one had the chance to answer him before the door opened. Mrs. Anderson was standing there, looking somehow both quizzical and resigned. Before she fully stepped into the light, all of them saw her quickly whip something off her head and hide it behind her back.

Lector decided he would have to be the spokesman, being the one who knew her best. "Good evening, Mrs. Anderson," he said with a bow. "How are you tonight?"

"I'm as well as I can be," she said.

They all looked at each other. How on Earth to proceed? Even Nesbitt seemed at a loss, instead of just barreling into it as he might ordinarily do.

Finally Mokuba stepped forward. It seemed to him that the best thing to do was to flat-out say what he had seen. She surely had to know about it, so they wouldn't be bowling her over with news that would be a shock.

"Um . . . hi, Mrs. Anderson," he said. "I'm Mokuba Kaiba, and . . . I kind of . . . saw your son Noa tonight. . . ."

"And so you came to me?" she said without skipping a beat. "You know he likes to visit all of us."

"Yeah, but . . ." Mokuba shifted. "This time he . . . wasn't a ghost. . . ."

Now she wobbled, but caught herself on the door. "You don't know what you're saying!" she snapped. "Noa is dead! There's no way to get him back!"

"Mrs. Anderson, I saw the footprints in the snow," Lector said. "He was standing right outside my house. Mokuba saw him and he acted afraid. He even asked Mokuba to forget seeing him. Then he got into a cab and left."

"There's a missing magical object floating around town," Gansley spoke up. "We've been told it has the power of life." He looked firmly at her. "If you have this object, Mrs. Anderson, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep it. It was stolen and the Chinese government wants it back."

"I don't have it!" she insisted. "And if I did, do you think I'd ever give it up?! If something could actually restore my son to me, I would never let it go! Ever!"

Lector's heart twisted. He could understand so well. All of them could, he was sure. But what were they going to do?

"If you won't tell us about it, there will be others after us," Johnson said. "And they might not be as understanding."

"Then they have no hearts," Mrs. Anderson retorted. "This conversation is over. Goodnight, all of you!"

She slammed the door in their faces.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes: Thanks to Animegamefanatic and ThickerThanLove for plot help!**

**Chapter Three**

Crump flinched and cringed as the door slammed shut. "Okay then. So now what?"

"We won't get anywhere with her," Lector said. "And I can't honestly blame her. If I was in her position, and I had somehow managed to revive any of you I'd lost, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your safety, even if I was breaking the law."

Nesbitt grunted. "We're agreed on that. But that doesn't help this problem any. What do we do?"

"Let's talk to your parents, Johnson," Gansley suggested. "There's no harm in finding out if they really might know something about what's happening."

Johnson nodded. "I hope we won't wake them up," he said in concern. "But I agree, we should try that maneuver next."

They walked next-door and Johnson knocked on the door. It was swiftly opened by his mother, whose eyes went wide in delight.

"Thomas!" she exclaimed. "Please come in! And all your friends!" She held the door open wide.

"Thank you, Mother," Johnson smiled. They all trouped inside and she pulled the door shut after them.

"What brings all of you here so late at night?" Mrs. Johnson asked. "Your father's gone to bed already and I was just cleaning up the kitchen before I followed him."

"Well . . ." Johnson shifted. "Truthfully, we're wondering what's going on with Betty Anderson. We suspect she may have a missing object we're looking for, but she won't admit to it."

Mrs. Johnson's expression faltered. "Betty. . . ." She folded her arms. "Actually, Betty _has_ been acting strangely lately. She won't come over for any reason and she's started sending for her groceries to be delivered to the house. When I've tried to ask her what's wrong, she just insists that nothing is." She frowned. "But why would she have a missing object you need, Thomas?!"

Johnson adjusted his glasses, looking uncomfortable. "The rumor is that it grants life."

His mother gasped. "Noa?!"

"That's what we think," Gansley said. "Mokuba Kaiba here saw Noa earlier tonight."

Mokuba nodded. "That's right."

"You did?!" Mrs. Johnson cried. "Betty's been grieving over her son all these years. If he's really back, that's incredible! No, that's beyond incredible!"

"We're not sure what to do," Lector said. "If this was all there was to the story, we would just let it go and figure it was her own business. But the problem is, the missing object was stolen from China and there are several people here trying to collect all the items and send them back. We don't want Mrs. Anderson to get in trouble with them, or with the Chinese government."

"Oh dear." Mrs. Johnson frowned. "That does make everything sticky. Well, I'm not sure what to do. Tomorrow I could try again to get Betty to talk to me, but I just don't know if it will work. She's been so aloof with everyone, to say the least!"

"If you could at least try, we would be grateful," Lector said with a bow.

"Then I will," Mrs. Johnson said. She sighed but smiled. "Bill will be sorry he missed you. Will you all come back tomorrow and have some pie?"

"Sounds great to me!" Crump chirped.

Everyone concurred. After visiting for a few more minutes, they left, knowing they needed to get Mokuba home.

"So . . . what's gonna happen?" Mokuba wondered. "Are we gonna tell everyone about me seeing Noa or keep waiting?"

"I think we'd better go ahead and tell them," Lector said. "I believe you, Mokuba, and I know they will as well. It's hard to say when we'll find out the full truth behind Mrs. Anderson's behavior, but I'm sure Noa is at the heart of it."

"And her being a hermit. . . . That makes it sound like Noa isn't ever supposed to go out," Crump exclaimed. "Or maybe he can't go out. Maybe that's a violation of the thing's conditions!"

"I don't think so," Mokuba said. "He seemed okay when I saw him. . . ."

"Well, maybe she just doesn't want anyone to see Noa then," Gansley said. "She may be worried about having taken the tiara and fear that Noa will suffer for it. After we take Mokuba home, there is one other thing we can do tonight—see the Paradox Brothers at their hotel suite and find out if they know exactly what the powers of the missing items are."

"That's a good idea," Nesbitt said, perking up.

"Aww, I'd like to go with you guys to hear that," Mokuba lamented. "But I really should be getting home. Seto will be getting tense."

Lector smiled a bit. "Let's go then. We'll tell you all about what we find out later, Mokuba."

Mokuba smiled too. "Okay then." Sometimes it still seemed strange that he was so comfortable being around all of the Big Five, and that Seto allowed it. But it was definitely a nice strange.

xxxx

As it turned out, others had had the same idea about the Paradox Brothers. When the Big Five arrived at the hotel suite after dropping Mokuba off, Atem, Yugi, the Bakuras, and Bakura's cat Oreo were already there.

"Hello," Atem greeted them. "You had the same idea?"

"That's right," Gansley said.

The Paradox Brothers didn't mind. "You have asked about the last two magical items," said Para. "The first is the crane tiara, the bringer of life."

"The other is the fox whip, the deliverer of strife," said Dox.

"That doesn't tell us enough," Yami Bakura growled.

"Bringer of life?!" Atem exclaimed.

"Is it like the Infinity Ankh Shadi had?" Yugi wondered. "He used that to revive Alister when he was killed stopping the Neo-Orichalcos, but there were conditions for using it. . . ."

"Every fifty years, the crane can bring back three," Para said.

"But be warned! There is always a fee," Dox added.

"To revive one, it must in turn take," Para said.

"A crop, a building, or even a winter's snowflakes," Dox concluded.

"It causes a drought, in other words," Atem frowned. "Or destroys a building that may in turn kill many inside. . . . What a dangerous and deadly device."

"There is always a price for magic, Pharaoh," Yami Bakura said. "Sometimes that price is forcing the bearer to always be ready to save the world. Sometimes . . . it's something like this."

Bakura was just staring in open-mouthed shock. "How can you tell how many it's been used on within the given time period?" he asked.

"The crane's eyes and pendant will alight," said Para.

"As one by one, the chosen ones' life signs burn bright," said Dox.

"So those gems glow to indicate the number of times it's been used," Atem said. "But it doesn't have to be kept for the people to live?"

"No," said Para. "They are free to pass it on, once they have made their choice."

"And if they can live with the invoice," said Dox.

Bakura still seemed overly interested. "Do they choose the price or does the tiara choose for them?" he wondered.

Yami Bakura shot him a Look. He was getting a bad feeling about this.

Oreo meowed and nuzzled Bakura. He held her close, but wasn't distracted from waiting for his reply.

"They can choose from several fates," Para said.

"And if they cannot, the tiara itself will designate," Dox said.

"I see," Bakura said softly.

". . . What about the other item?" Gansley cut in.

"The item of death causes great woe," said Para.

"It kills whomever you want, but you must give up your own soul," Dox added.

"Well, that's creepy," Crump said. "What good is it then?"

"You might be surprised," said Para.

"But there are those willing to pay the price," Dox finished.

Crump shuddered. "Okay, I'm gonna have nightmares tonight."

Atem looked at them closely. "Do you know anything about the locations of either item?"

Lector sighed. "We don't know," he said guardedly.

The Brothers also studied them, unconvinced.

"While you may not be certain, we can see you suspect," Para said.

"It would be wise to tell us, regardless of whom you wish to protect," Dox said.

"And what will you do if we relay our suspicions to you?" Gansley asked.

"As to that, we are not sure," Para said.

"We will need to hear more," Dox finished.

Nesbitt growled. ". . . We think a woman used it to revive her kid," he said.

Yugi gasped. "What?!"

"Then she has nothing to fear," Para said.

"We will simply take her tiara away from here," Dox said.

Lector gave a slight bow. "We would like permission to try to talk with her again ourselves," he said. "If she understands there is no danger to her or her son, I am sure she will give up the tiara peacefully."

The Brothers exchanged a look before replying.

"We will grant you this," Para said.

"And hope this is information that Vivian Wong will miss," Dox finished.

Nesbitt's expression twisted in disgust. "That's true. If she found out, she'd probably try to use that to bribe Lector into bed."

"It wouldn't work," Lector said.

"Of course not," Gansley said. "But you shouldn't have to deal with it anyway."

Johnson looked to the Brothers. "We will talk to her again in the morning and report our success to you," he said. "Hopefully we'll be able to bring the tiara with us."

"We will await your report," said Para.

"And hope that your success will not instead abort," Dox said.

The group soon left. Yugi, Atem, and the Bakuras all looked varyingly shaken and disturbed by the exchanges.

"Who do you think got revived, guys?" Yugi demanded as they got into the elevator.

"Mokuba saw Noa outside my house tonight," Lector said. "He begged Mokuba to forget seeing him and then escaped in a cab. He must be worried about his mother, maybe thinking she'll get arrested for having stolen merchandise."

"One does wonder how she would have obtained it," Atem mused. "Was the man from the museum a friend of hers, perhaps? Or did she buy it from him?"

"If we can get her to understand there's no danger, she may tell us," Gansley said.

"So wait, Noa's alive?!" Yugi gasped.

"He left footprints in the snow," Lector said. "And we went to see Mrs. Anderson and she was very belligerent, to say the least."

"She was definitely hiding something," Nesbitt grunted.

Bakura hesitated, shifting his position in the elevator. ". . . Um . . . if we get the tiara back and see that there are still two available slots . . . would it be too terrible if I used it to bring back Mother and Amane?"

Yugi and Atem both stiffened in concern. "Bakura," Yugi exclaimed.

"Eh. You can't blame the boy," Yami Bakura grunted. "I could tell he was tempted. Who wouldn't be?" He looked to Bakura. "The question I have is, could you live with whatever destruction you might cause by their revival? Would they want to be revived that way?"

Bakura bit his lip. "I . . . don't know. If the tiara gives me options, I could pick what sounds the least horrible. What if there's just some old abandoned warehouse to choose? Surely it wouldn't be so awful or selfish to let something like that be destroyed in exchange to have them back. . . ."

"I doubt it would be that simple, unfortunately," Atem said. "Your choices would probably be more along the lines of a building full of people or perhaps causing a drought on an area that desperately needs the moisture."

Bakura clenched a fist. "Well, at least I could find out!" he suddenly snapped, uncharacteristically angry.

"But what if the tiara won't let you back out if you decide you don't want to use any of the options?" Yugi exclaimed. "What if it insists on going ahead with the deal and choosing for you?!"

Bakura turned away. "Maybe if you'd ever lost anyone to death and not got them back, you'd understand how I feel, Yugi."

Yugi guiltily looked down. "I do understand, Bakura," he said. "I wanted Atem back so badly, but I just kept telling myself it was for the best that he'd gone on to the afterlife. That was the only way I could deal with it. If I had ever once thought he wanted to be with me more than he wanted to be there, I probably would have done what Duke did for David and searched for some way to get him back."

The elevator stopped and everyone filed out, heading into the cold winter's night.

Bakura looked up, staring into the snowflakes descending from the overcast sky. "I never had a way to get them back before," he said softly. "I feel I will always regret it if I don't at least investigate this possibility."

Atem sighed. "Then you must make your own decision. I only pray it will be the right one."

Bakura managed a smile. "Thank you."

Yugi looked at Atem with worry, but didn't protest.

The groups went their separate ways, shaken by all they had learned—and unsure what to think of Bakura's desires. No one could blame him, but the fact that this object could be so dangerous was more than a little frightening.

xxxx

Bakura didn't speak until he and Yami Bakura were back in their van and heading for home. "What do you think, Yami?" Bakura asked. He held Oreo close to him as he stroked her fur. "You didn't forbid me to use the tiara. . . . And I know you understand why I would want to, probably more than anyone else. . . ." He bit his lip. "It's selfish of me, though, isn't it? I mean, you lost absolutely everyone! I should let you use it. . . ."

"No," Yami Bakura said gruffly. "Who would I bring back? My sister Amunet? My mother? My father? If there are only two slots, one of them would have to stay behind. They have been together for three thousand years. I wouldn't want to split them up."

"Oh." Bakura looked down. "That's true. . . . I didn't think about that. I should have."

"But if there are two slots, you could get back both of your lost loved ones," Yami Bakura continued. "No, Bakura, I won't forbid you to use it. But Yugi and the Pharaoh made excellent points. You must think very carefully before you do something like this. You need to consider everything that could conceivably go wrong and if it's worth the risk. And then, if you feel it is, you should do it."

Bakura leaned back, staring out at the falling snow. "Is that how you lived your life, Yami?"

Yami Bakura grunted. "Somewhat, until Zorc got hold of me. After that, I fell into madness and wasn't thinking clearly at all."

Bakura sighed and looked down at Oreo as she snuggled close, striking up a motorboat purr. "I don't know what to do," he said softly.

"Then wait to decide until we get hold of the tiara," Yami Bakura said. "Perhaps by then you'll know."

Bakura slowly nodded, but he had to wonder if he would sort it out even by then.

xxxx

The news quickly spread to all of the group about Noa's apparent return. Everyone was stunned, but knowing how Noa had tried to make up for his wrongdoings, they were also happy and hopeful for him and his mother.

"He's lucky his mother cares about him," Duke muttered when he saw Yugi's text. "Mine would never go through any of that for me. She just left me with my revenge-obsessed dad and ran back to Japan."

Lumis and Umbra, who were staying late to do inventory, looked at each other with awkwardness. Neither knew what to say to Duke and thought it better to stay quiet unless he addressed them. They did, however, go to another part of the storage area to talk with each other.

"I certainly can't imagine a mother caring as much as that boy's does," Lumis remarked, bitterness creeping into his voice.

Umbra's expression darkened. Lumis had told him many horrible things about his home life, including his apathetic parents. When Lumis had been in a coma during Battle City and Umbra had been asked about his family for permission to discontinue life support, Umbra had said he was Lumis's only family—both because it had really seemed to be true and because he had wondered if Lumis's biological family would have cared enough to keep the life support going. He hadn't wanted to trust them after what he had been told.

"Do you think yours would?" Lumis broke into his thoughts.

Umbra gave an uncomfortable shrug. "I don't know." Umbra's family was wealthy. But they had wanted to plan his life out for him and when he had said No, they had disinherited him.

Lumis sighed. "Oh well. None of that matters now. We have each other and that's enough."

Umbra nodded in agreement. He was satisfied. Although he couldn't deny there was a part of him that wondered what it would be like to have a parent like Noa's mother, willing to even use a dangerous magic object to save him regardless of the consequences.

And from the way Lumis's eyes flickered, he really wondered too.

xxxx

Mokuba took a deep breath as he headed for Seto's bedroom. He wanted to let his brother know he was here and to say Goodnight, and he was still debating the Noa issue. He supposed he really couldn't or shouldn't put off telling Seto about it, although he still dreaded it. Maybe it wouldn't go over too badly . . . but Seto and Noa had never made peace, so Mokuba was understandably nervous.

Part of him wondered why Noa hadn't tried to approach Seto during the last time he had come around as a spirit. Noa had visited almost everyone else. But maybe there just hadn't been time and Noa had figured he and Seto would need a lot more of it to even try to clear the air. Whatever the reason, the problem still remained unsolved.

Mokuba quietly pushed open the door. "Seto?"

Seto was laying in the bed with his laptop. He turned to look at Mokuba. "You're back later than I thought Lector would keep you," he remarked.

"I know," Mokuba said slowly. "Something kind of happened and . . ." He trailed off. "Seto, have you been working?!"

"I'm just doing a few things," Seto said. "Mostly checking emails. They stack up fast."

"But you're still getting better," Mokuba protested.

"I hate laying around doing nothing," Seto said. "You know that."

"Yeah . . . but I don't want you to get sick or something," Mokuba said.

"I'll be fine. I'm going to sleep soon. What was it that happened?" Seto looked at Mokuba with a scrutinizing eye, wishing he could just know what was going on in his brother's mind.

Mokuba shifted his position and bit his lip. "Um . . . well, we found out what the other two magic items do, and I think someone already used one," he said.

Seto kept looking at him. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not, but you'll find out anyway," Mokuba said. "One of the items can grant life, and it . . . kinda looks like Noa's mom got it and used it to bring Noa back. . . ."

Seto went stiff in the bed. "What?!"

"That's not a bad thing, though!" Mokuba exclaimed. "You know Noa's changed. . . . I'm sure he won't try anymore to get KaibaCorp away from us. . . ."

Seto slowly tried to will himself to relax. "No, I don't think so either."

Mokuba watched him carefully. "You're not mad, are you, Seto?"

"I don't know what I am," Seto retorted. "Naturally I'm not jumping for joy, but I suppose I'm glad for his mother's sake."

Mokuba nodded hopefully. "Gozaburo really treated Noa rotten. And he got killed so young. He really deserved another chance to live."

"Well, apparently he's got one now," Seto grunted. "He'd better not waste it."

Mokuba smiled. "I don't think he will. Especially once he knows his mom will be okay."

Seto sighed, opting not to comment further on the matter. "You'd better get to bed," he said instead. "You've had a long day and I imagine tomorrow will be busy. We'll probably be caught up all the more in this magic nonsense around town."

"Yeah, probably," Mokuba said. He came over and hugged Seto. "Goodnight, Big Brother."

Seto had to smile. "Goodnight, Kid." He hugged Mokuba close.

They each had a great deal to think about as they settled into their beds. But eventually their thoughts drifted into pleasant dozes for them both and they slipped to sleep until morning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Vivian Wong lay on her bed in her hotel suite, deep in thought. She was still all a-tingle from her dinner date with Lector, even though he hadn't been at all interested in taking things any further. He was still the only person who had ever taken her out despite his anger at some of her prior behavior—although Yugi was so sweet that she imagined he would be capable of doing something similar. She still found him utterly adorable, but at the moment she was completely enraptured by Lector.

She hadn't ever thought she would be interested in someone so much older than she was. She was around the same age as his younger sister Evangeline. She had checked. But when the Big Five had started to appear in the news again, first because of their connection to Seto Kaiba and then because of their Penguin World business venture, she had started to find the tall, broad man with the Southern accent and impeccable manners absolutely riveting. Her feelings had only continued to grow, and had expanded exponentially upon actually meeting him. How had she not ever noticed the appeal of an older man before? The wisdom, the maturity . . . the strong chest . . . !

She couldn't deny that she had been undressing Lector repeatedly in her mind. She still wanted him, badly. His best friend Nesbitt was a catch too, but he was thoroughly hostile towards her because of her forward behavior and inappropriate propositions towards Lector. She doubted she would ever get anywhere with him. But with Lector, she couldn't help wondering if she might have a chance.

Probably not, she frowned to herself. She had done some other research ever since their initial encounters, and Lector had been honest with her about the dating scene. He hadn't ever put himself out there. The closest he had come was an arranged engagement years ago with someone back in New Orleans, but he had broken it off because of her cruelty and selfishness.

He had already pretty much said that he found Vivian to be cruel and selfish too, repeatedly. Not to mention that now she was starting to believe him about him not having any real interest in romance or intimacy. Some women had tried, but he had never taken the bait. Even when they were perfectly nice, he still hadn't had any such feelings for them.

Well, maybe there really wasn't any way to his heart. But on the other hand, her actually being helpful had gotten her a dinner date. Maybe, if she continued to play her cards right, she would have more of a chance.

In the morning, she might go see Mai Valentine. They had made a good dueling team, and it was obvious to Vivian that Mai and Joey Wheeler shared a special relationship. Maybe she would ask Mai what her secret was. Yes, that was a good idea.

She rolled over and frowned. She couldn't forget about her mission, either. She had to find and return all the Chinese magical objects to their rightful place in China. Two were still missing, and one was somewhere in the river. As much as she wanted to spend all her time thinking about Lector and fantasizing about them together, she had a duty to do.

She would think about that tomorrow too. Tonight, she would just wrap herself in her fantasies. At least she had those, even if they never would come true.

She smiled as she turned out the light.

xxxx

Lector wasn't thinking about Vivian at all. He had other, far more important things on his mind. His thoughts were filled with Noa and Mrs. Anderson and Mokuba as he slowly undressed back home and prepared for bed. When he emerged from the bathroom and found Nesbitt in the bedroom doorway, awkwardly resting his arm against the doorframe, he couldn't say he was surprised.

"Tomorrow's no doubt going to be strange and busy," Lector told his friend. "We need to be rested up."

"You said you were thinking about when Noa was struck down," Nesbitt said, even more awkward. "Did you want to talk about it at all or . . . ?"

Lector sighed but smiled a bit. He was always touched when Nesbitt tried to make an effort to be thoughtful. It was still very hard for him to always know how to interact with people, but he was trying.

"I don't know," he said. "It's the past now. And if Noa's truly back, I should be able to stop feeling haunted about it. I know it's likely true that that madman would have tried to find another time and place to murder Noa if it hadn't worked that night."

"But it's not so easy to make yourself stop thinking about it, is it?" Nesbitt's eyes flickered. He spoke from personal experience on that; he was always haunted by the things he had done that he wished he hadn't, even things that he really wasn't at fault for and things that had long ago concluded.

"No, it isn't," Lector conceded. "I don't know how Noa's mother hasn't ever absolutely hated me. Maybe she has and she just kept it from me. The boy and I were arguing that night and he ran away. I tried to find him, but I wasn't fast enough. How is it not my fault in some way?! I shouldn't have let him get away!" But he looked away and drew a shaking breath. "I know it does no good to keep thinking on it, though. Maybe I'll feel better after some sleep."

"Will you even be able to sleep?" Nesbitt wondered.

"I hope so." Lector started to walk to the bed but paused. "I really wanted to see Noa tonight," he confessed. "I wanted to see for myself that he's alive and well."

Nesbitt nodded. "Well . . . maybe with any luck, we can see him tomorrow."

Lector hoped so. He climbed into bed. "We'll see. Goodnight, Nesbitt."

Nesbitt started to back out of the doorway and into the hall. "Goodnight." He took the knob to pull the door shut.

"And . . . thank you," Lector said sincerely.

Nesbitt kept pulling on the door. "Sure."

It quietly closed and Lector settled into the soft mattress and pillows, smiling to himself as he dozed.

xxxx

Nesbitt left Lector to sleep and quietly moved into the hall, where the others had gathered farther down and far enough away that they wouldn't disturb Lector with talking.

"How is he?" Gansley asked.

Nesbitt awkwardly shrugged. "I think he'll be alright. It's just really starting to sink in that Noa's apparently alive, and that seems to be combining with his lingering feelings of guilt over what happened when Noa died."

"It is strange to think about Noa being alive," Gansley acknowledged. "There's no doubt about that."

"No kidding," Crump exclaimed.

"But he did help us when he came around as a spirit several months ago," Johnson said. "Do any of us still hold ill feelings towards him because of what happened in virtual reality?"

"Oh, I don't know," Gansley sighed. "You can't deny the boy went through something horrendous. We lost almost all sense of self wandering in cyberspace for only a few weeks! What on Earth amount of damage happened to Noa over six years of being there?"

". . . That certainly puts it into perspective," Johnson remarked.

"Not to mention, we weren't alone," Crump said. "That's probably really why we kept hold of any sense of self at all, not because of revenge like we thought."

Nesbitt sighed and nodded. "While Noa had no one except virtual people and dogs for all those years until we came along. It's no wonder he was out of his mind by then."

"I would say he's tried his hardest to make up for all that he did," Gansley said. "We have no reason to fear or recoil from him."

The others agreed.

"So . . . I guess we should get to bed and prepare for whatever comes at us tomorrow?" Crump said.

"We'll need our strength," Johnson said.

They all bade each other Goodnight and vanished into their respective rooms, each wondering what the morrow would bring . . . and if Noa would be as nice and as helpful as he had been upon his last visit to the mortal plane.

xxxx

The night passed without anything else strange happening, and in the morning the Big Five collected Mokuba—with Seto's permission—and headed back to the middle-class neighborhood where Noa's mother and Johnson's parents lived. Mrs. Johnson hadn't had any chance to talk to Betty Anderson yet, but the group decided to go ahead and try again themselves, armed with the information the Paradox Brothers had given to them.

Mrs. Anderson seemed even more hostile than on the previous night when she answered the door and found the group there again. "I told you, there's nothing for you here," she snapped in greeting.

"Mrs. Anderson, let us explain," Johnson pleaded. "Let's assume that hypothetically, you revived Noa with the missing crane tiara. You don't need to keep the tiara to ensure he stays alive, and there won't be criminal charges brought against you for having the tiara. If you give it back to us now, we'll deliver it without any questions asked and you and Noa can live in peace."

"But don't keep the kid cooped up," Crump beseeched her. "You don't have to, and I know he'd be happier being able to be out and about! What kind of life would it be if he just has to stay in all the time?"

"And I'd like to see him," Mokuba said softly. "Please?"

Mrs. Anderson frowned as she studied the group. "How can you really promise everything will be alright?" she asked.

"We've spoken with the people looking for the tiara," Gansley said. "They won't even have to know your identity. All they care about is getting the tiara back where it belongs."

"Please, Mom," a new voice spoke up from the shadows of the house. "The only reason I've stayed hidden was because I was worried about you! But if there's no need to, I want to come out!"

Mokuba's eyes brightened. "Noa!" He ran forward, trying to peer around the doorway.

Lector just stared. Even knowing that Noa was apparently back didn't brace him for the shock of really hearing the boy's voice, and not an ethereal spirit voice like before, but an actual body and soul voice. "Noa," he whispered. "It really is him. . . ."

Mrs. Anderson looked like she didn't know what to do now. But when Noa came around her and ran over to Mokuba, she didn't stop him.

"Mokuba, I'm sorry about last night," Noa said. "I wanted to see Lector, and you too, but I realized I couldn't unless I knew Mom would be safe, so I turned and left."

"I understand," Mokuba said. He beamed. "I'm just so glad you're back. . . ."

Noa smiled. "I am too." He laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder, then slowly and hesitantly went over to Lector. He stood looking up at the man while Lector stared back down at him.

To everyone's surprise, it was Lector who came to life first, pulling Noa close in a firm hug. They had made amends before when they had met on a spiritual plane, and when Noa had tried to protect him and some of the others from Dr. Portman's henchmen. Lector saw no reason to be standoffish now.

"Noa," he whispered, his voice shaking. "All these years, I've blamed myself for what happened to you. . . . I've never been able to deal with it. . . . And now you have a chance to live again. . . ."

Noa initially went stiff out of surprise, but he quickly warmed and clutched at Lector, burrowing against his trenchcoat. "I'm so sorry, Lector," he choked out. "For that night . . . and so many nights. . . . All the times I treated you so poorly when you were only trying to look out for me. . . ." He sobbed. "This was what I wanted to tell you last night. . . ."

"You told me before," Lector soothed. "It's alright now. You're back safe."

Mrs. Anderson half-turned away, brushing aside forming tears of her own. Now the tiara held in one hand was very visible.

Gansley looked to it. "Mrs. Anderson?"

She sighed and held it out. "Here. Take it."

Gansley accepted it and turned it around in his hands, soon noting that both eyes of the crane were lit up. "It's been used on someone before Noa," he said in surprise.

"I don't know who that was," Mrs. Anderson said. "I got hold of it because a friend of mine gave it to me. He said he bought it and the other items from its set and that I deserved to have the tiara more than anyone else he knew."

"You got it from the guy at the museum?!" Nesbitt exclaimed. "The one who tried to hurt Lector in the canyons?!"

She flinched. "Yes," she admitted, "but I had no idea what he was doing until I heard on the news about his disappearance and probable death after he attacked all of you."

Gansley continued to study the tiara. "If you don't mind my asking, what was the price you paid to bring Noa back?"

She looked away. "I chose to cause a blizzard in Domino Canyon that night. That seemed the least dangerous out of the options I was given."

Everyone jumped.

"_WHAT?!"_ Nesbitt cried. "That blizzard almost killed Lector! He was out in it!"

Noa gasped. "Oh no. . . ."

Mrs. Anderson wavered. "I . . . I had no idea at the time," she stammered. "I didn't think anyone would be that deep in the canyons in the middle of winter. . . . I thought I was choosing an option that wouldn't hurt anyone. When I learned that Lector was lost, I was horrified!"

Nesbitt growled. "You might have caused less damage if you'd chosen something else!"

Lector sighed. "Let it go, Nesbitt," he said. "In her position, I'm sure you or I would have done the same thing."

Nesbitt didn't look pleased, but he had to concede Lector's point—even if he didn't want to admit it out loud. But he couldn't refrain from saying, "And if it wasn't for your 'friend,' none of us would have been out in that blizzard and he wouldn't have tried to kill Lector!"

"You know, that's a good point," Crump mused. "Actually, the guy we met was so power-crazed, he sure didn't seem like someone who'd be thoughtful enough to think of anyone besides himself. Why would he give up something like a life-giving tiara?"

"I suppose people could have said the same about us in Noa's world, and that we didn't seem like people who would or could care about each other," Gansley said. "That said, I have to admit it's strange. I wonder if the pendant can possess or otherwise negatively affect the user's mind."

"We didn't find out what its powers are," Lector remembered. "We figured it couldn't even be looked for until Spring, since it's most likely in the river."

"Here's a creepy thought," Crump exclaimed. "What if the dragon item was being used by somebody and it controlled him through the pendant to do a lot of what he did? The Paradox Brothers said the dragon item could control any of the others!"

Mrs. Anderson looked horrified. "Are you absolutely sure the body you found is his?"

"No, we aren't," Johnson admitted. "But it doesn't seem likely it isn't."

"Oh. . . ." She looked down.

Noa looked to her in concern. "I'm sorry, Mom. . . . I know he was your friend. . . ."

She sighed. "I knew deep down he was probably doing something illegal. He said he'd bought the items, and I should have questioned whether he bought them for the museum, but I didn't because I wanted the crane so badly."

"He either bought them illegally or he stole them directly from China," Johnson said.

"Well, I hope you can get it back to where it belongs without any trouble," she said. "I don't regret using it, not at all. But I'm sorry that I caused all of you such pain when I chose to cause that blizzard as payment."

Lector sighed. "It is a very dangerous item indeed. I hope Ryou Bakura won't still want to use it, especially since it looks like there's only one available slot left and he wouldn't be able to revive both his mother and his sister. We should get it to the Paradox Brothers as soon as possible."

"Can I go with them, Mom?" Noa asked. "I'd like to see everyone, especially now that I know it's safe. . . ."

From Mrs. Anderson's expression, she wondered if she could stand to let Noa go even for a little bit of time after getting him back at last. But she finally nodded. She knew she couldn't keep him cooped up indefinitely. "Go with them and see all your other friends, Noa," she said. "But stay in touch with me and don't be out too late!"

"I'll be fine," Noa assured her.

"We'll take good care of him," Lector promised. "I won't allow anything to happen to him again."

Mrs. Anderson finally smiled a bit. "I know you'll do everything in your power for him, Lector. You always did."

"I only wish I hadn't failed before," Lector lamented. "But I need to look forward and not back. It will be different now." He bowed. "Thank you for entrusting me once again."

She smiled. "Oh, go on now."

The group headed down the steps, Mokuba talking enthusiastically to Noa about all the things they could do now that he was here. Lector listened to them for a while but then tuned them out, staring ahead with worry in his eyes.

"What is it?" Nesbitt grunted.

"You know, we haven't thought much about the fox whip," Lector said. "We've been focusing on the crane since we figured Mrs. Anderson had it. But where's this item that brings death?"

"Maybe we should go back and look through that guy's house," Nesbitt said. "We could have overlooked something like that."

"We should," Lector agreed. "But neither the crane nor the whip had a reproduction made of them, as the others did. And if he gave the crane to Mrs. Anderson, what did he do with the whip? What if he didn't keep it?"

"Would he really give something like that to someone else?!" Crump yelped.

"I don't know," Lector said, "but with our track record, I'm afraid we really need to worry about where it is."

Gansley sighed. "I do, Lector," he said. "I most assuredly do."

xxxx

Mai was both surprised and bemused when the doorbell rang that morning and she opened it to find Vivian there. "Hello," she said slowly. "It's been a long time. . . ."

"I know, right?" Vivian exclaimed. She walked in without waiting for an invite. "I thought it was about time you and I had a heart-to-heart. Woman to woman, you know?"

Mai shut the door after her, smirking a bit. "Is this about Lector? Or one of the other guys you've been interested in?"

"Oh . . . you could say that," Vivian said. She whirled to face Mai again. "I'm wondering about you and Joey Wheeler."

Mai stared at her. "Huh?!"

"I mean, anyone can see that the two of you have something special going on," Vivian gushed. "How did that happen? What did you do to attract him?"

"There's nothing romantic going on between us," Mai insisted. "I'll admit, I think Joey may have crushed on me a little bit when we first met on the boat to Duelist Kingdom, but our relationship has very little to do with any kind of physical attraction. We love each other for who we are . . . although I'll admit I've struggled many times with how Joey can see anything worth loving in me at all. But he does." She sighed and folded her arms. "If your only interest in guys is how they're going to be in bed, you're not going to go very far in finding a deep relationship . . . or a decent guy."

"I care about more than that," Vivian pouted. "I love Lector's gentlemanly manners!" She clasped her hands in dreamy delight.

"But do you really care about finding out who he is as a person?" Mai countered.

Vivian frowned. "Of course I do. And I know a lot about him as a person. He's strong, and loyal, and muscular, and he has beautiful skin, and . . . !"

Mai facepalmed. "Honestly, I don't think you're going to get anywhere with Lector," she said. "He's not interested, hon. And I know hearing that might make you think of him all the more as some kind of challenge to conquer, but I think you need to sit down and evaluate what you really like about him, and about all of these other guys you're into. Do you really care about any of them? Or are you just infatuated and lustful?"

Vivian looked away with a scowl. "Are you telling me you've never had feelings like that for anyone?"

"That's not the point," Mai sighed. "The point is that a real, healthy relationship has to be built on so much more than that. And it also doesn't do any good to pursue someone who just isn't interested. Take it from someone who's been the one pursued."

That brought Vivian back around with wide eyes. "You've been pursued and you weren't interested?! Why?!"

"For one thing, because the guy was a chump," Mai said. "He felt like he could buy anything and everything he wanted with money and fame, including me. I can't live in a relationship like that. No one should. I wanted him to see me for myself, a hard-working woman with dreams, and that he couldn't just get me as a decoration to take to parties and host them for him."

Vivian frowned. "I've worked hard for everything I have. I've been in the movies, I have a high ranking in kung fu, and I'm the top Duelist in China. I wouldn't want a guy like that either."

"Then don't you think you should also work hard at any relationship you want to have?" Mai said. "And that doesn't mean thinking up elaborate and underhanded schemes to try to force men to do what you want, or thinking you can just use a man as your love slave. No self-respecting person wants to be in a relationship like that. And if you hurt someone's loved ones to try to force their hand, like you did to Yugi's grandfather at Kaiba's tournament, what kind of relationship are you going to have from that? Even if you'd won that duel and Yugi felt he had to fulfill your condition, he wouldn't have been happy and he wouldn't have cared about you. He would have only resented you, even hated you. Is that what you want?"

"No," Vivian admitted. She frowned. ". . . Maybe I don't really know how to get a guy interested," she said in a hypothetical tone of voice. "Maybe they never have been, so I just got used to taking the initiative and going after whoever I liked."

"Maybe you need to start by showing some respect for their personal space," Mai said. "You can't just go up to a stranger off the street and start cuddling them. That's going to give them a bad impression right away."

"Lector's the only one who's ever actually taken me on a date in spite of how I acted," Vivian said.

"Because he's a gentleman and he felt he had to fulfill your condition, since it didn't go against his moral standards," Mai said.

Vivian wrung her hands and started pacing the floor. "What should I do to get him interested, Mai? Or any guy? I always thought you were supposed to be yourself."

"You are, but within reason," Mai said. "You need to put a filter on your fangirling and treat the guys like real people and not decorations to snuggle with or take to bed. That's the same way that guy acted with me. You can still be quirky, determined, all of the traits that make you who you are. And sooner or later, you'll find someone who's attracted to all of that." She sighed. "Just don't get your hopes up about Lector being that one."

"It's still hard to understand him not being interested in romance," Vivian said. "Or Nesbitt feeling that same way. . . ."

"Some people just aren't," Mai said. "They don't feel they need it, especially if they're happy and fulfilled with what they have. And some have just . . . never had the desires or urges. I don't think they can explain it either. But that doesn't change that it's who they are."

"It's not who I am," Vivian said. "I can't remember when I wasn't interested!"

"And I'm sure that someday you'll meet someone who's interested in you," Mai said. "But you need to remember what I'm telling you."

"I guess." Vivian stared out the window.

Mai could tell she still didn't seem convinced. But she was out of ideas for advice. It seemed bizarre to her that anyone would come to her for love advice in the first place. "Listen to me or don't, it's up to you," she said. "But if you keep going on like you have been, you'll just alienate all the guys and everyone else too. People don't like to be around someone who acts like you have, thoughtlessly and selfishly making demands and propositioning whoever and whenever you feel like it."

". . . You don't pull any punches," Vivian said.

"That's part of why we made a good Dueling team," Mai said. "And . . . don't you have an assignment you should be focusing on right now anyway?"

"I do, but I don't know where to begin," Vivian said. "I've checked all the places I can think of for the missing items. What if they were on that guy when he attacked Lector and they're in the river too?"

"Then there's nothing that can be done until Spring," Mai said. She sighed. "But knowing our luck, I'm sure the items will turn up sooner than that." She wasn't sure she should tell about what she had been told of the crane, since the Big Five had wanted to try again to talk to Mrs. Anderson about it and they didn't need Vivian's kind of interference with that. And then all of them were clueless about the whereabouts of the fox whip, which was more than a little disturbing.

"So what should I do? Just wait around for them to show up and try to practice being nicer with the guys?" Vivian frowned.

"Maybe for now, that's about all you can do," Mai said.

Vivian started to back up towards the door. "Well, thanks for the girl talk, Mai," she said. "I'll be sure to drop around again sometime." She waved before opening the door and scooting out.

Mai shook her head. "I never thought about it before, but I think she and Jean-Claude Magnum were made for each other," she mused aloud to the room. "She could fangirl him and he would lap it up."

She quickly took out her phone to get back to more important matters, like finding out the latest about Noa.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes: Thanks to Azalea542, Mega Man, and Crystal Rose of Pollux for plot help!**

**Chapter Five**

Johnson's parents both welcomed the group back and pie was offered, as promised. While the Big Five knew they shouldn't stay long, they knew Mokuba and Crump especially had been looking forward to the dessert and opted to stay for a little bit.

Noa in particular seemed awed as they started to eat. "Every time I eat something, it always feels so incredible," he said, "like it can't really be real."

"That's how it felt for us too, when we were finally restored to our bodies," Gansley mused.

Noa looked to Mokuba. "And you can tell your brother he doesn't have to worry, Mokuba," he said. "I'm just going to be here, living with my mom. I won't try to get KaibaCorp or the mansion away from you two."

"I didn't think so," Mokuba smiled. "But we can play together, can't we?"

"I hope so," Noa said. "I know technically I'm around Seto's age, but my childhood was taken from me. I want to just be a kid again."

"And you should be," Nesbitt grunted.

"And it looks like the Powers That Be or Whoever felt the same way, since you've been brought back in a kid's body, like you would've had if you'd lived back then," Crump said.

Johnson paused, giving Crump an odd look. "You think God had the final say in what a magical object would do?"

Crump shrugged. "Eh. Who knows. Makes sense, though, especially since it sounded like Noa had a good afterlife. I mean, you wouldn't think somebody could just vamoose back to Earth without God havin' a say in it, you know?" He shuddered. "Or maybe I don't wanna think some trinket actually has more power than God."

"No, I'm sure you're right, Crump," Lector said. "We know God is real, so He must have been alright with this. I don't believe an object could have more power than Him either. That said, we need to find the fox whip before somebody else does, since free will is also a thing and I don't know that God would stop that item from being used any more than He usually stops people from using any other method of death."

"I'm still worried that man may have given it to someone else," Johnson said.

"I texted Mr. Bakura and he's going to look through the house in case we overlooked it," Gansley said.

"It's handy he has a key, since the guy worked at the museum and all," Crump said.

Noa sighed. "I wish he wasn't responsible for so much heartache, since he was Mom's friend. . . ."

"Hey, maybe he really was being controlled through the dragon object, like I wondered," Crump said. "Which is awful to think about too, but maybe it's better than thinking he tried to kill Lector of his own free will."

"Although either way, he still took possession of all the objects knowing they were stolen, if not having outright stolen them himself," Johnson said. "If he didn't want ultimate power, then why did he do that?"

"I wonder if he could have stolen all the items just to get the tiara for Mom," Noa said.

"Would he really do that?" Gansley looked skeptical. "Why not just steal the tiara?"

"I don't know," Noa sighed.

Lector sighed too and looked to Nesbitt, who had mostly been silent save for a comment or two. In one way that wasn't unusual, but in another way Lector was still somewhat surprised that Nesbitt had backed down from yelling at Mrs. Anderson about the blizzard. He was sure Nesbitt was still upset about that revelation, and that he probably had a lot more to say.

"Are you alright?" Lector said at last.

Nesbitt growled a bit. "I know you've always tried to stand up for that woman, but surely you're upset that she was responsible for that Hell you went through! And it wasn't so peachy keen for any of the rest of us either!"

"I'm not happy about it," Lector admitted. "But when I can understand how she'd feel to have the chance to get her son back, I don't know how much I can really fault her for what she did." He looked away. "I'd do it in a heartbeat to save you."

Nesbitt didn't know what to say to that, either. He certainly felt likewise, and he would have also tried to pick the least dangerous-seeming option the tiara offered. But he was still angry. All those hours Lector had suffered, struggling through the snow and already freezing and badly hurt from being pulled into a waterfall . . . ! And all the time everyone else had suffered, trying so hard to get him back and fearing he was lost to them . . . ! He gripped the fork tightly in his hand.

Mokuba stared down at his plate, uncomfortable with this argument starting up while Noa was right here. He knew he also would have used the tiara to get Seto back, or Marik, or Lector. Really, he wondered if anyone he knew wouldn't have used it to recover a loved one, even despite the high costs.

". . . I wonder how Duke didn't find out about the crane tiara," he said at last. "When he was looking all over to find a way to get David back. . . ."

"China probably kept it a well-guarded secret, and understandably so," Gansley said.

"That makes sense," Johnson agreed.

His mother shook her head. "Well, be that as it may, it's still a shock that there really is something like that." She smiled at Noa. "But I'm glad your mother got you back, Noa. She's lived next-door to us for years and she never got over the grief of losing you."

"I know," Noa said quietly. "I'm glad I was able to come back too, only . . ." He looked to Lector. "I'm really sorry about the blizzard. . . ."

"It wasn't your fault," Lector wearily replied.

They soon finished the pie and the visit with Johnson's parents. Then it was back to the limousine and heading for downtown. They needed to hand the tiara over to the Paradox Brothers and meet with everyone else to show them that Noa was back and try to figure out where to look for the fox whip.

Through text messages, the group had mutually agreed to meet at the Black Crown Game Emporium. It wasn't long and they were there, pulling into the parking lot along with others, including Mai.

"Hi, guys," she greeted. "Lector, I should warn you that Vivian dropped by my place for love advice. I don't think she's ready to give up with you just yet."

Lector scowled. "I might have known."

"Vivian?" Noa said in surprise. "Vivian Wong the Duelist?"

"Yes," Lector said. "She's a very . . . unusual person, and not in a good way."

Nesbitt growled. "That's putting it mildly."

Lector just shook his head. He would rather not discuss Vivian's base desires around Noa, even if the boy was technically Seto's age. He had not really grown up properly and he was still really a child, whether or not he had learned about such things. Lector wouldn't have let Mokuba know either, but he had already found out from other sources.

Still, Noa's eyes flickered with understanding and recognition. "I know about her," he said. "She uses sex as a weapon and tries to ensnare any guy who comes along that she's interested in, even if she has to hurt their loved ones to do so."

"That's about the size of it, alright," Crump said. "She's a real piece of work."

They all headed inside, where most of the group had already gathered. They looked up, staring at Noa in stunned amazement. It was one thing to hear that he was back. It was quite another to actually see him for themselves.

Yugi broke the silence. "Noa!" He beamed. "Hi. We're glad you're here!"

Many of the others chorused in agreement.

Noa smiled shyly. "I'm glad you can feel that way, even after everything I did. . . ."

"Well, you've changed," Joey said.

"And we have far more concerning things to think about right now," Yami Bakura grunted. "Where is this other item?"

"Father didn't find it in that man's house," Bakura worried.

The Paradox Brothers arrived in their rental car and got out, heading into the store.

"You said you have the tiara for us," Para said.

"We'll take it now, without a fuss," Dox added.

Gansley held it out to them. "Unfortunately, we have no leads on the fox whip."

"I think we'll have to consider that he either hid it extremely well or gave it to someone, maybe for safe-keeping," Johnson said. "Or maybe he'd even try to destroy it."

"The items cannot be destroyed," Para insisted.

"They will always reform and the attempts will be void," Dox said.

"Well, that's super creepy," Téa said, making a face.

"Nothing can get rid of them?!" Crump exclaimed. "Not even a Mt. Doom or wherever they were made?!"

"There is a secret way," Para said.

"But we will save that for another day," Dox said.

"Father is trying to look up all of the man's contacts in the hopes of locating whoever might have been given the whip," Bakura said.

"I wonder if Mrs. Anderson could help with that," Lector mused.

"I don't think Mom knew any of his other friends," Noa said. "But it wouldn't hurt to ask."

The doors opened and Seto came in, still moving slowly, yet trying to hide that he was anything under the weather. As he took in the scene and saw Noa, he stiffened. It was still hard for him to accept Noa was back, or to forgive all that he had done. Still, he knew logically that Noa was trying to improve himself and that he had helped on more than one occasion, so he wanted to be civil.

"Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed. He hurried to the older boy's side. "Should you really be up?!"

"I'm fine, Mokuba," Seto said.

Téa and Yugi looked concerned too, but they didn't want to say anything and worry Mokuba more. Téa knew, however, that the moment Seto looked like he couldn't handle it, she wouldn't stay quiet about him needing to rest.

"I'm really glad to see you up," she said instead.

Not sure what to say to that, Seto finally settled on, "It was about time I did."

"Hey, Kaiba," Joey greeted, hesitant yet hopeful that Seto really wasn't hurt badly anymore.

Seto nodded to him. "Wheeler. Everyone."

Noa hesitated. "Seto, I . . ." He looked away. "I keep saying how sorry I am for all I've done, and it always feels so inadequate. . . ."

"Words are cheap," Seto grunted. "I'd rather be shown in actions how someone feels. And . . ." He drew a shaking breath. "You've shown that you've changed, Noa, so I'll try to be alright with you being back. I know Mokuba will want to play with you."

Noa nodded. "Thank you. . . ." He looked up with sincerity in his eyes. "I won't make you sorry."

"You'd better not," Seto grunted.

Mokuba relaxed and smiled. Everything would be alright now, he was sure.

A heartless laugh echoed through the store and everyone jumped a mile. Lumis, who was unpacking boxes with Umbra, nearly dropped one.

"What was that?!" he cried.

Marik went stiff, as did many of the others. "I know that voice," he said in horror.

"I'm afraid we all do," Téa moaned.

"No!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Yami Marik," Lector hissed in displeasure. The last time they had encountered him, it had been the one from the alternate world. Their own demon hadn't been heard from in quite some time, but they had known he would more than likely be back.

Nesbitt snarled. "Where are you?!" he barked. He clenched a fist. "We've all got a score to settle with you now that we remember you altered our memories about what happened in Kaiba's augmented reality game!" The laughter continued and he took several steps forward in mounting rage. "You made everyone believe I tried to burn down that warehouse with Mokuba and others in it! _I_ believed it too!"

"It's not something he'd ever feel sorry for," Marik said darkly.

"You're right." Suddenly Yami Marik was standing at the top of the stairs leading to Duke's and David's offices. He sneered as he looked down at the group, sadism and murder flashing through his eyes. Without any warning, a whip cracked and flew through the air, connecting with Umbra's back. He froze. For one moment he looked surprised and stunned and in pain as he met Lumis's shocked gaze. Then his eyes darkened and he collapsed to the floor at a horrified Lumis's feet.

"Umbra?!" Lumis crashed next to him, shaking him on the shoulders with no response. "Umbra, what's wrong?! Get up!"

Everyone stood around, stunned and in horror, their minds blank. It was just one strike with a whip. That wouldn't cause such an extreme reaction, not unless . . . unless . . .

It was Yugi who snapped out of his shock first. "That's the fox whip, isn't it?!" he cried. "You just killed him like he was nothing!"

Serenity gasped. "No!"

Lumis went stiff. "No! No, that's not true! He's not dead! _UMBRA!_" He pushed Umbra onto his back and bent over his friend, shaking as he desperately sought life that wasn't there. Undaunted, he struggled to perform CPR. In a moment, Marik hurried over to help him.

Yami Marik watched in sick delight. "That won't work!" he exclaimed. "There's nothing that can bring him back, except the crane tiara!"

The Paradox Brothers both frowned, looking down at their prize.

"You may use it, of course," Para said to Lumis. "But what would stop this demon from killing again once the one space is used?"

"He must be defeated before the whip's powers can be further abused," Dox added.

Téa looked up at Yami Marik with tears in her eyes. "How could you?!" she spat. "Why would you just kill someone who never did anything to you?!"

"Well, that's not quite true," Yami Marik sneered. "He failed my weaker self when he was employed as a Rare Hunter."

Marik looked up with a jerk. "You've maintained for some time that you're complete without me," he snarled. "Don't try to say you're taking revenge for a failed mission in Battle City! We all know you just did this because you felt like it, because you love killing!"

"That's true," Yami Marik admitted. "What more appropriate weapon is there for me to wield than the fox whip, bringer of death? And since I don't have a soul, it can't extract its price!" His eyes gleamed. "Although if it tries to, it will more than likely take Marik's soul, since he created me!"

Mokuba ran to Marik. "No!"

Marik tried to give him an encouraging smile. "I feel fine, my friend. Except for being completely enraged at the evil being I created." He clenched a fist.

Lumis gripped a handful of Umbra's shirt. "How is anyone going to beat him when he has that whip?!" he wailed. "He could kill everyone here before we could do anything!"

"Well, unfortunately there is a limit to the amount of destruction I can cause," Yami Marik said. "Otherwise, it could have been wielded during countless battles to kill off the entire enemy!" He paused. "But I don't think I'll tell you what that limit is. I'll let all of you worry about how many I can get rid of!" He cracked the whip again, this time harmlessly on the stairs.

"You're sick!" Mokuba spat.

Atem and Yami Bakura looked at each other and nodded. Maybe, while everyone kept Yami Marik distracted, they could sneak around and launch an attack with both of their Infinity Items. All they had to do was get the whip out of Yami Marik's hands and everyone would be safe from this latest evil.

Seto and the Big Five were thinking similar thoughts. Some went with Atem while the rest went with Yami Bakura. Maybe their Rings wouldn't work, if the entire world wasn't in danger, but considering some of the times they had forced the Rings to work in seemingly other circumstances by sheer will, maybe it could happen again. And in any case, it was hard for them to believe the whole world wouldn't be in danger with such a horrific power under Yami Marik's control.

Yugi was in tears as well. "Every time I think you can't get any lower, you always find a way!" he exclaimed.

"It's so pathetic how you keep welcoming more and more of your former enemies into the fold," Yami Marik mocked.

"Well, we never do it without good reason!" Joey spat. "Umbra saved Serenity's life a while back!"

"Yeah!" Tristan chimed in. "We'd sure never have a reason to welcome _you_ into the fold!" He clenched a fist.

Lumis snarled. As the initial shock passed and it sank in more and more what had happened and why, he was fairly boiling over and shaking with rage. He started to get to his feet.

"Don't do something stupid!" Duke exclaimed. "You don't have any way to beat him! He'll just kill you too!"

Yami Marik watched, entertained. "I _could,_" he agreed. "That would give all of you quite a dilemma! Which one to save? Or would it be kinder to leave them both dead, so they could still be with each other? However . . ." He suddenly turned, sending the whip flying towards Lector. "I think I'll give you a dilemma of a different sort!"

Before Lector could even jump out of the way, Nesbitt was there, tackling him to the floor. _"NO!" _he screamed.

"Nesbitt!" Lector screamed too. "You'll be killed!" He tried to pull Nesbitt farther down, all the while bracing himself for the horrible feeling of Nesbitt's body falling lifelessly against his. But the feeling didn't come.

"Leave them _alone!_" Yugi bellowed with all the force he could muster. He ran out, firmly planting himself in front of Lector and Nesbitt. "You've done more than enough to them already!"

Atem went pale in horror. _"YUGI!"_ There was nothing he could do; the whip was already falling.

Time seemed to grow still. For a split-second after the whip fell, Yugi still stood there, defiant, desperate to protect Yami Marik's current targets. Then his eyes deadened, as Umbra's had, and he fell forward to the floor.

Time started up again. Téa screamed until her throat was raw, all the while running over to her fallen childhood friend. Joey and Tristan were already there, followed closely by Atem.

Joey grabbed Yugi by his shirt and hauled him up. "Get up!" he yelled, much as Lumis had done with Umbra. "You can't do this to us, Yugi! _GET UP!_"

Atem tore over and took the lifeless form from Joey, shaking, frantic to be proven wrong that Yugi was now dead. He couldn't be! Atem had already lost him once. He couldn't bear to go through it again!

"Yugi," he choked out. He could see the whip had done its work. He sobbed, clutching the boy close to him.

Téa, arriving now too, fell to her knees and also cried. Joey and Tristan punched the floor in helpless grief.

Yami Marik had also been in shock. But now he threw back his head and laughed. "Well, well, isn't that special?" he mocked. "Little Yugi's final act was to save two unfortunate souls."

Lector and Nesbitt were both rising up and staring at the scene in absolute alarm.

"And there's only one slot left on the tiara," Yami Marik continued. "You're going to have to choose who gets it!"

Lumis went completely pale. Until now, he had had hope that Umbra could be saved. Now he knew that there wouldn't be any chance; everyone would vote to use the tiara on Yugi. He fell back to his knees, his shoulders hunched in his despair.

Lector got to his feet. "You monster!" he spat.

"I wish you did have a soul so it could be sent to Hell where it belongs!" Nesbitt raged. He was completely shaken. The whip would have struck him if Yugi hadn't interceded. He would never want to leave Lector in such anguish, but this . . . this wasn't any better. None of them should have been struck!

Yami Marik started to laugh again, but it choked in his throat. He stumbled, his eyes widening in his shock. The whip fell from his grasp and to the floor.

Mokuba stared. "What's happening to him?!"

No one could answer that. They all stared in shock as the wretch finally found his voice and let out a bone-chilling scream as the shadows engulfed him. When the fog faded, he was gone.

Marik drew a shaking breath. "The whip took its price," he realized. "It claimed whatever he had for a soul."

Mokuba hugged Marik close. He had feared it really might take Marik instead. But he was safe.

Marik embraced his friend as he looked back to the heartbreaking scene around him. Yami Marik was gone, but he had left a horrible catastrophe in his wake. Now . . . what were they ever going to do to set it all right?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes: Thanks to ThickerThanLove, Mega M, and Animegamefanatic for plot help!**

**Chapter Six**

For a few minutes, everyone was too in shock to think or move or do anything. Yugi was still laying motionless in Atem's arms, while Umbra remained on the floor; Lumis certainly didn't have the strength to lift him.

The small man was still kneeling at his friend's side, shaking, certain all hope was lost. But the more he thought about it, the more the frantic desperation took hold of his heart. There was a way right here to save Umbra! He couldn't give up on it that easily! Yugi had sacrificed himself to save Lector and Nesbitt. He wouldn't want Lumis and Umbra to suffer either.

Joey was starting to snap to now as well. "Alright!" he cried. "Where's that tiara?! We've gotta use it to get Yugi back!"

Téa looked up, trembling. She wanted to use it for Yugi so badly. But . . . what kinds of prices would it offer for his life? Were they prices that could be paid? Prices Yugi would _want_ to be paid? And what about Lumis and Umbra? They couldn't just ignore that problem either. Yami Marik really had left them in a devastating situation where not all of them could win.

Lumis was getting to his feet. "Yugi isn't the only one in trouble here!" he spat at Joey. "You were just defending Umbra telling of how he protected your sister. Does that suddenly mean nothing now that someone you care about much more is also hurt?!"

Joey froze. "Oh man. . . ." He looked to the tiara in despair. "Is there really only one slot?!"

"There is only one," Para confirmed. "The other two lights are lit."

"You must choose the life you feel is more fit," Dox added. He placed the tiara on the glass counter and stood next to it.

"But that's not fair!" Joey exclaimed. "How are we supposed to do that?!"

Tristan clenched his teeth. He couldn't deny that he felt Yugi's life was more "fit," and if everyone was honest with themselves, he was sure they would all acknowledge the same thing. Yugi was innocent and had brought so much cheer to them all. Umbra was a criminal and had only just been starting to head back on the path to redemption.

But . . .

Yugi would want them to save Umbra. He would never want to be brought back at the cost of someone else's life. And . . . well, maybe Lumis needed Umbra more than they needed Yugi, at least in the respect that Lumis really had no one else. But even though they all had each other, that didn't take away that they needed Yugi too. All of their loved ones were important. Without Yugi, there would always be a gaping hole in their lives.

"There has to be a way to save both of them," Téa choked out. "We can't make a choice like this! It's not right!"

"When is death ever right, or fair?" Yami Bakura growled. "It just is."

Bakura averted his gaze. They both knew that, all too well. All his tentative hopes had plummeted upon learning that the tiara only had one slot left. And now, with all of the Hell Yami Marik had put upon them, of course he knew there was no hope at all to get either his mother or Amane back. Yami Bakura had a point anyway; Bakura wouldn't have wanted to separate them and only bring back one. But it still hurt so much, and now to be faced with this new horror of losing Yugi. . . . Bakura clenched a fist.

Seto looked to the Paradox Brothers. He was still reeling, not fully able to grasp what had happened or that of all people, Yugi was laying dead in Atem's arms. They had been through so much together . . . even though he now knew that his rivalry was with Atem and not Yugi. . . . Yugi was still important too, and someone Seto had acknowledged was a friend. . . .

"There isn't some other item that could fix this?" he asked. "What about the dragon? You said it controls all the others. Couldn't it override the 'only three' rule?"

"Many have tried, but all have failed," Para said.

"Against the tiara, they all have railed," said Dox.

Serenity blinked back tears, but more only came. "This is horrible," she choked out.

Duke drew an arm around her shoulders. It was, and they all knew it. He didn't know what the right thing to do was . . . but he couldn't deny that he probably understood Lumis's feelings the most, considering his own heart-rending past of trying and failing to deal with David's death. He wondered, as Mokuba did, why he hadn't ever heard of the crane tiara before. It was lucky he hadn't, he supposed, because in his state back then, he wouldn't have been above trying to steal it himself in order to use it.

Lumis looked up at the Brothers. "I want the tiara," he half-pleaded. "I don't care what price I have to pay to get Umbra back!"

Joey looked to him with a jerk. "And you don't care that Yugi would be dying in his place either, do you?!" he cried.

"Yugi would want me to save Umbra!" Lumis shot back. "You know that as well as I do!"

"That doesn't mean you've got the right to be so callous about a kid dying!" Joey snarled.

"You don't know how I'm feeling right now!" Lumis retorted.

"I know enough!" Joey grabbed Lumis off the floor by his shirt.

"Stop!" Téa wailed. "Yugi wouldn't want us fighting either!"

Joey loosened his grip but didn't let go. "I know," he relented, "and I know I shouldn't be taking out my anger on Lumis, but . . ." He clenched his teeth.

"I get you loud and clear, man," Tristan said. "Yugi's the one who deserves to be brought back, even if he himself would tell us to get Umbra instead. And he would; we all know that."

Lumis squirmed out of Joey's grip and ran to the counter, grabbing the tiara. The Paradox Brothers stood by, but didn't stop him. Lumis glowered at them, Joey, Tristan, and anyone else whom he thought might try to take his prize as he ran back to Umbra's lifeless body. "I'm going to use this," he insisted.

Joey slammed his fist into the wall. "You punk!" But he didn't try to stop the little man. It felt like a hopeless situation. Yugi would indeed tell them to revive Umbra instead of him, even though Yugi had so many who loved him and Umbra really only had Lumis. Or maybe especially because of that. . . .

The doors suddenly opened and admitted one more person. "What's going on in here?!" Vivian demanded. "I've been looking all over for you, Darling, but I wasn't able to find you!" She shot an accusatory look at Lector.

"I told you that there was only last night's dinner, Miss Wong," Lector snapped, for once not even caring how he sounded. He was completely on edge after the horrendous events. She was the last thing he needed right now.

Vivian was already taking in the scene around them. "What happened to Yugi?!" she screamed. "Is he dead?! Why aren't you using the tiara to bring him back?!" She had immediately noticed the magical object in Lumis's hands, as well as the fox whip on the floor. Where they had found the missing items could wait; she only cared about the immediate problem.

"It's not that simple," Mai told her. "There are two people dead and . . ."

"It _is_ that simple!" Vivian ran forward without another thought and flew through the air with a kung fu move that knocked Lumis to the floor and sent the crane tiara flying. She caught it in her hand and landed on her feet on the floor. "Yugi is the one who deserves this, not these two disgusting criminals!"

Duke stepped forward, angry now. "Former criminals," he snapped, "and they don't deserve what's happened either. We don't know how we're going to save both Yugi and Umbra, but we also don't know how we can tell Lumis he can't use the tiara on his best friend." He knelt down next to the stunned man and tried to help him sit up.

Lumis groaned. The wind had been knocked completely out of him. "I'm . . . going to sue you," he rasped at Vivian.

"The judge and jury will all side with me!" Vivian haughtily told him. "They'll all recognize that I'm only defending the innocent!"

"Oh, you're a real piece of work," Nesbitt snarled. "Did you care about Yugi's innocence when you wanted to force him to be your love slave?!"

"None of you really love Yugi or you'd be using the tiara on him!" Vivian screamed.

Atem snapped to, gently laying Yugi on the floor before getting to his feet. "That's enough!" he boomed. "You don't know the first thing about love or you wouldn't have barged into our lives with your outrageous behavior to begin with!" He reached out, snatching the tiara away from her. "You're not wanted here. Now get out, before Duke calls the police on you for trespassing!"

Vivian just stared at him in shock for a long moment. Then, sputtering, she pointed first at the tiara and then at the whip. "W-Wait!" she exclaimed. "I have a mission to take those back to China!"

"You are too late," Para said.

"It is we who now have that fate," Dox said.

"We will go as soon as they decide," Para continued.

"Who should come back and who in the spirit world should reside," Dox finished.

Atem clenched his teeth. Now the tiara was in his hands. He could choose to save Yugi, which was of course what he wanted more than anything. Almost everyone there felt the same way, even if they figured they couldn't get what they wanted and take that chance away from Lumis.

Atem looked over at Lumis. He had seen how the little man had completely shut down without Umbra there. It had happened in Battle City, and if this situation didn't have a happier outcome, it would probably happen here too, and be far worse than back then.

He frowned. Lumis really depended on Umbra too much. Maybe it would be good for him to learn to stand alone. . . .

No, that wasn't right. Atem was just trying to make excuses to get what he wanted. But Yugi would definitely tell them to use the tiara on Umbra. He was always unselfish like that. And maybe . . . maybe there would be some other way to save Yugi. There had to be; if Atem thought there really was no hope, he wasn't sure he could get by much better than Lumis. It wasn't co-dependency, but simply love. Atem and the others needed Yugi because they loved him, not the other way around.

He took a shaking breath. "Here, Lumis," he said, holding the tiara out to him.

Lumis was still laying on the floor, but now he struggled to sit up, staring at both Atem and the tiara in awe. "You're really going to let me use it?" He reached for it with shaking hands.

"How can you?!" Vivian cried. "He doesn't deserve it! Neither does his friend!"

"That isn't for any of us to say," Atem replied, his voice taut. "Yes, Lumis. You can use it." He set it in the man's trembling hands.

Joey stared at him. "Atem. . . ."

"We all know it's what Yugi would want," Atem said. Even knowing that, though, it felt so hollow. He had to shut his eyes tightly. It wasn't what _he_ wanted. And yet he didn't want Lumis to suffer either. . . .

He cursed Yami Marik in his mind. None of this should be happening!

Lumis cradled the tiara almost reverently and protectively and looked down at Umbra's lifeless body. It still felt like a nightmare, really. His chest should be moving . . . but it wasn't. His heart should be beating . . . but it wasn't. Lumis turned away to hide the grief-stricken tears slipping from his eyes.

He could really bring Umbra back now, if that woman didn't interfere again. He would be willing to pay any of the prices offered, he was sure. He wasn't a saint. He was trying to do better in his life, but he had always been a wild card and always would be. And all he wanted was his best friend back, no matter what he had to do to have that.

But . . . after everything . . . could he really be so cold and callous about Yugi not having a chance to get back? All of his loved ones here were so devastated . . . and he was just an innocent boy, so different from Lumis's troubled upbringing. He didn't deserve this. But neither did Umbra. And even though Yugi's friends were trying to be strong enough to give up their chance to have him back, Lumis honestly didn't think he would be strong enough to do likewise and give them the tiara. Maybe he was just weak . . . or still a bad person . . . but he honestly didn't think he could go on without Umbra.

He slowly turned back to face everyone. He wasn't sure what he expected. Maybe for everyone to be regarding him with distaste and disgust, like Vivian was. But even though there were many conflicting emotions, understanding was most prevalent among them. Duke and David and the Big Five especially looked like they knew what he was going through.

"It's not a sin to love someone so deeply you don't know how to live without them," Gansley said quietly.

Lector nodded. "Without Nesbitt, I know I would never feel alive again," he said. "I was so terrified he was going to die today."

"But then it was Yugi instead," Lumis trembled. "I . . . I don't know what to do! I can't lose Umbra, but . . . to condemn that boy to a needless death . . . I don't know if I can do that either!"

". . . I wonder what would happen if I went back," Noa shakily spoke up.

All eyes turned back to him with varying mixtures of shock and horror.

"What do you mean?!" Mokuba cried.

"If I went back . . . would that free up another slot so both of them could come back?" Noa wondered. He looked away. "I . . . I know I probably don't really belong among the living, but they do. . . . Only I . . . I don't want to cause my mom any more pain. . . . I know she couldn't stand it if I . . ." He trailed off.

"We have never heard tell of anyone suggesting they go back," Para said.

"For courage, you most certainly do not lack," Dox said.

"You should stay here, Noa," Lector said quietly, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You want to, and it's true, it would destroy your mother if she lost you again. You can't do that to her."

Noa shakily nodded and turned away, blinking back tears. "I know. . . . But I just wish there was something I could do! . . ."

Atem heaved a sigh. "Let's see what the prices are, Lumis. . . ." And what would they do if all the options were horrible? Would they have to keep Lumis from picking any of them? Would they have to trust that Lumis wouldn't pick any? . . . Would they have to accept that both Yugi and Umbra were gone for good?

Lumis finally nodded. "Show me what it would take to bring Umbra back," he rasped.

The tiara came to life, projecting three images in space. Everyone stared at what was being revealed. At first, it looked similar to what they had envisioned.

The first option looked like a violent hurricane out in the ocean. The waves raged and buoys and ships were caught up in the anger. Eventually the hurricane reached the coastline and swept over a town.

Marik flinched. "A lot of people would be hurt or killed in something like this," he said.

The second option appeared to be a drought. Crops in a field were failing and drooping low to the ground.

"That looks like the last thing we need right now," Crump couldn't help commenting.

Then the third scene really captured everyone's attention. Yugi and Umbra were both wandering through some sort of strange land, fighting off mythological beings and trying to help each other. One outcome, shown with a split-screen effect, depicted them both safely making it out and returning to their bodies. The other outcomes showed only one making it out, but neither of them reviving.

Téa gasped. "What's it trying to say?! I don't get it."

". . . It's a journey through the afterlife, or some other realm," Atem realized. "If they both pass the test, they will both be allowed back. But if one or both fail, both are lost."

"So there really is hope to save Yugi?!" Téa exclaimed.

Joey clenched a fist. "It looks like if Lumis picks that option, there's a chance to save both of them, but it's both or nothing," he said.

"So I might lose Umbra if I choose that option," Lumis said softly. "If I choose one of the disasters, getting him back will be a sure thing. But then there won't be any hope for Yugi. . . ."

"Oh man!" Joey punched the images in space. "Why can't anything be simple around here?!"

"You would really send Yugi into a dangerous obstacle course like that?!" Vivian exclaimed in indignation. "Just use the tiara for him and forget about the other guy!"

"Shut up!" Lumis snapped.

Atem couldn't deny that his heart was now swelling with hope. Any chance to have Yugi back was better than no chance, and this way there was a chance to save both. It was dangerous, but he had confidence Yugi would make it through and help Umbra do likewise. Still, when it was a gamble . . . could they really ask Lumis to pick that option?

Lumis clearly wasn't sure either. He turned away again as he clutched the tiara, gazing first at Umbra's body and then at Yugi's. Even if he picked one of the disasters, what might happen because of them? The hurricane especially—what if it hit Domino City? Still . . . choosing it or the drought would guarantee Umbra's return. There weren't guarantees with the third option.

But . . .

Yugi was the King of Games, wasn't he? Lumis always got confused on that part, whether it was Yugi or Atem who had really earned the title. But Yugi would surely be able to make it through whatever kind of obstacle course it was, and Umbra was no slouch either. He would also be capable of making it through, and Lumis was sure he really would. Then they would both be back.

What if they didn't want to do it, though? Well, Yugi no doubt would, but what if Umbra was angry that Lumis chose that option without asking him if he was willing to go through something like that to get back?

Not that Lumis had any way of asking him. . . .

He leaned over, gripping Umbra's lifeless hand. "You have to come back," he whispered fiercely. "I'm not going to let you go."

Drawing a shaking breath, he looked back up at the different options on the screens. "I . . . I'll choose the third one," he said, and prayed he wasn't making a terrible mistake.

Most of the others looked to each other in joy.

"Yugi will come back!" Téa exclaimed. "I know he will!"

"Yes." Atem managed a smile as he knelt and took up Yugi's body again. "They will both be back."

xxxx

Umbra had been badly shaken ever since he found himself in a strange white area devoid of anything. No matter how he called or yelled, no one answered him. He remembered something hitting his back, and Lumis staring at him in shock, and then he had collapsed and awakened here. What was this place?! Where was Lumis and everyone else?! Had he teleported to someplace else?

A flash of light burst forth and Yugi appeared, dropping down near him. He jumped back. "Yugi?! What's going on? What is this place?!"

Yugi shakily sat up. "Well . . ." He bit his lip. "I hate to have to tell you, Umbra, but . . . we're dead. . . ." He all but whispered the last part.

"_WHAT?!"_ Umbra screamed. "No, we can't be dead! _I _can't be dead!" He ran his hands down his shirt, as though still trying to process that he wasn't mortal and solid any longer. He ran over to Yugi and gripped his shoulders. "Lumis won't be able to take it! I've got to get back!"

"Umbra . . ." Yugi's look turned even more sorrowful. But then he sighed and tried to smile. "You'll get back. I promise." He knew there was only one slot on the tiara, but he also knew that his friends would know he would want them to save Umbra. He didn't want to die either, but he had known what he was getting into by running out to save Lector and Nesbitt. He was resigned to his fate.

Umbra wasn't comforted. "How?!" he burst out.

"There's still the tiara, remember?" Yugi got to his feet. "Everything's going to be okay." In his heart, he prayed Yami Marik could be and had been defeated. If not, who knew how many others might join them here, making the situation even worse?! It was hard enough for the others to choose between two people, to say nothing of more.

Umbra fell silent as the full memory of what he knew about the tiara came back to him. "But . . . there's only space enough for one of us to get back," he said.

"I know." Yugi turned away. "And I know they'll make the right decision. They'll see that you're saved."

"But . . . how is that the right decision?!" Umbra shot back. "You're Yugi Muto, the King of Games! You have as many friends and loved ones as you do because you deserve it! I'm . . . just an ex-Rare Hunter who made a mess out of his life. . . ."

"You're trying to fix your life," Yugi corrected. He turned back. "And you have someone who loves you so much, he won't be able to go on without you."

Umbra frowned. He knew more than Yugi that was true, but still. . . . "Your friends and family no doubt feel the same way about you," he said. "And this . . . this doesn't look like any kind of afterlife I've ever pictured. I can't just leave you in a place like this!"

"I'm sure it's not permanent," Yugi said, and prayed he was right. "This is probably just some kind of a . . . holding area, maybe, until a decision is made about the tiara."

"Maybe," Umbra said doubtfully.

A light shone in front of them and they froze. Had someone else been killed now?!

Yugi gasped as the light took on the form of a person. "Shadi?!"

Umbra looked from Shadi to Yugi with a jerk. "You know him?!"

"Yeah," Yugi stammered, "but I didn't think he would have anything to do with the Chinese magical items. . . ."

"I do not," Shadi agreed. "But I certainly have a great deal to do with you, Yugi Muto, and everyone you come in contact with." He looked from Yugi to Umbra and back again. "Lumis has chosen to try to save both of you."

"What?!" Umbra stared. "But there's not supposed to be a way to do that!"

"There is one way," Shadi said. "The both of you must take a dangerous journey to return to the mortal realm. But you must both come through this journey, and there is a time limit of six hours."

Yugi stared. "Oh wow."

Umbra stared too. "Lumis talked about journeying through the afterlife in various mythologies," he said. "That kind of thing really happens?!"

"This wouldn't be the afterlife, per se," Shadi said, "but it is a similar type of journey through an in-between place. Are you both willing to take it?"

"If it means both of us getting back, of course I am," Yugi declared.

Umbra still looked worried. "I don't know anything about this kind of thing," he objected. "I'll probably slow you down and we'll both lose."

Yugi smiled. "I won't let that happen."

Umbra sighed. "Well, if you're sure. . . ."

"We both have to take the journey anyway for it to work," Yugi said. "And I know you're stronger than you think you are. We're going to make it through!"

At last Umbra nodded. "Okay. I'll do it."

Shadi's expression never changed, but the scenery around them began to fade from white nothingness to the edge of a tropical forest. "Very well. Your six hours begin now."

"How will we keep track of the time passage?" Yugi asked.

Shadi handed him a watch and chain. "This is from the guardian of the Chinese items." And with that, he was gone.

". . . Does he always do that?" Umbra gaped.

"Sometimes," Yugi chuckled. "He's not too sociable." He put the watch in his pocket. "Okay. Ready to do this?"

Umbra grunted. "No, but I'm going to anyway."

"Good," Yugi smiled. "Then let's go!"

They started into the forest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes: Thanks to Mega M for plot suggestions!**

**Chapter Seven**

Waiting for their lost loved ones to come back was agonizing.

Duke had directed them to move Yugi and Umbra upstairs, onto the couches in his office. Lumis was just sitting by Umbra, not moving and not wanting to move. Atem and Téa were doing likewise with Yugi, while many of the others paced or awkwardly stood by.

The Paradox Brothers hadn't taken the items and left yet. They wanted to see if both lost ones would make it back. Plus, they weren't sure the tiara didn't need to stay here until the task was accomplished. Para was holding the fox whip, but Lumis hadn't let go of the tiara. Now it was projecting a time counter in the air, counting down from a six hour limit.

Duke sighed, running a hand into his hair. "We'll have to keep the store open downstairs," he said.

"_WHAT?!"_ Joey yelled. "You're worried about your business at a time like this?!"

"We have to make sure things look normal," Duke insisted. "Unless you want to explain to Yugi's mom or Mr. Muto if they drop by that Yugi is dead and we're waiting around to see if he can make it back by playing through some mythological obstacle course."

That silenced Joey. He cringed at the thought. "Uh . . . no, I don't want that at all."

"I didn't think so," Duke grunted.

"Mr. Muto might come over here anyway," Téa worried. "He was interested in the Chinese items. . . ."

"At least he'd be able to handle this better than Yugi's mom would," Tristan said.

"Would he?" Joey frowned. "Or would this drive him to a heart attack? I mean, Yugi's never been . . . dead before. . . ."

Gansley looked away. If his bad heart hadn't been healed by the angel Kasumi, he was sure he would have suffered a heart attack long ago from all the horrible things his loved ones were going through.

Joey drew a shaking breath. He could see Gansley was afraid Joey's concern had merit, but this was not a time Joey wanted to be right. "Well, Lumis is in no shape to help you out downstairs," he said to Duke and David. "I'd volunteer, but that would probably look immediately suspicious."

"Yeah." Duke managed a weak smirk. "We'll manage. We can just say Lumis and Umbra are working in the back, like they often are."

"And I'll help," Serenity smiled.

"Just let us know as soon as they get back," David said.

"If they get back," Nesbitt muttered.

Joey shot a harsh glare at him. "They're gonna get back!" he boomed. "No 'ifs' about it!"

Nesbitt gripped his arms and didn't respond.

Lector gave him a sorrowful look. He knew Nesbitt well enough by now to know that he was experiencing survivor's guilt from Yugi saving him. He wanted more than anything to believe Yugi and Umbra would come back to them, but the logical, pessimistic side of his personality could never stop thinking about the other possibilities. He was too afraid to believe and then be let down.

"My poor friend," Lector said quietly. He laid a hand on Nesbitt's shoulder.

Nesbitt tensed, but then slowly relaxed. Years ago, he might have snapped something cruel about Lector patronizing him. He might have even believed it, or made himself believe it. But now he knew that Lector was sincerely trying to comfort him. And Lector no doubt felt badly too. Nesbitt wished he could think of something comforting to say, but his mind was blank. Instead, he just reached up and gripped Lector's hand.

"Hey, you know that story in the Bible about Thomas?" Crump said.

Johnson started a bit to hear his name. "You mean the man who couldn't believe Jesus was alive again unless he saw Him?"

"Yeah," Crump said. "The Bible never says what his attitude was or how he said what he did, but you kinda get the impression that he was just being a stubborn jerk not to believe what his friends said. . . . Or maybe that he was like Kaiba and he refused to process the supernatural no matter how much evidence he had."

Seto grunted.

"But you know, I don't think that was it at all," Crump rushed on. "I was thinking recently that I'll bet he was like you, Nesbitt."

Now Nesbitt started. "Me? Why?"

"You love so much that you can't take loss," Crump said. "You're so afraid of having your heart busted even more that it takes you a while to accept when you have someone back after thinking they were gone. I'll bet you anything that's how Thomas felt too."

Nesbitt looked away. "Maybe so."

Lector smiled a bit. "It makes sense to me."

Joey backed down, sobered into silence.

Duke, Serenity, and David quietly left to try to do what they could in the store. Everyone else remained.

Lector glanced over at Vivian, who was chewing and pulling on her handkerchief but staying quiet. That was a relief. Lector had to wonder if she really was worried about Yugi, at least. She certainly seemed to be.

Nesbitt followed his gaze and glowered. He didn't trust Vivian at all. He wouldn't put it past her to come up to Lector with crocodile tears and say some nonsense about them comforting each other in their hour of sorrow. The more time went on and she didn't budge, Nesbitt's suspicions only grew instead of lessened.

Seto awkwardly went over to Atem and Téa, but really wasn't sure what to say. This was such a bizarre and unheard-of situation. Still, there was at least one thing he was fairly confident about, even in the face of all of this that didn't make sense.

"Yugi is the King of Games for a reason," he said gruffly. "He'll make it."

Atem looked up in surprise. "Thank you, Kaiba," he said. With Seto's personality, it took a lot for him to even say this much.

Téa reached up and gripped Seto's hand. "Of course he'll make it," she said fiercely.

Seto went stiff, but didn't pull away. After a moment he slowly curled his hand around Téa's.

The gesture wasn't lost on Vivian. "You're with _her?!_" she shrilled at Seto. "You would choose her over me?!"

Seto spun around, his eyes filled with warnings. But before he could speak at all, Mokuba ran over to her.

"Just shut up!" he spat. "You don't have any right to even talk about being with Seto after you tried to use his life to bribe Lector! Okay, maybe you did try to help later, but only to get on Lector's good side and get him to take you to dinner! You didn't really care about Seto!"

"You little brat!" Vivian stamped her foot. "I did care! I wouldn't have let Seto die! I thought I knew where the pearls were and that I could save him! I was going to do that no matter what Lector said!"

"Well, no one would know that from the way you acted!" Mokuba screamed.

Mai hurried forward. "Okay, I think it's time for a time-out," she said to Vivian. "Come with me, hon." She draped an arm around Vivian's shoulders and tried to steer her to the door.

Vivian didn't go willingly. "But I want to stay here!" she cried.

"There's nothing you can do here . . . except maybe make things worse by setting off everyone's nerves," Mai said. "Let's go."

Vivian whined, but finally walked out with her.

Gansley quickly pulled the door shut. "Good riddance," he muttered.

Lector groaned and shook his head, covering his face with both hands. "I shouldn't have encouraged her by taking her to dinner," he groaned.

"You did what you felt was right," Atem told him. "She held up her end of the bargain, whatever her motives."

"But I didn't actually say I'd take her out. I said I might consider it." Lector sank back against the desk. "Maybe I was afraid she'd just keep pestering me no matter what I did. . . ."

"I believe you wanted to give her a chance," Atem said. "Mokuba gave you a chance and it changed your life. In turn, you changed the lives of all your best friends. Just in case Vivian was capable of the same life-changing experience through kindness, you felt you couldn't just turn her away without trying."

". . . Maybe that's true," Lector conceded. "But in this case, I probably only made it worse. I may know how to interact with people in general, but when it comes to women with romance on their minds, I am completely clueless."

"She doesn't really love you, even if she thinks she does," Gansley said. "She's infatuated with you at best. At worst . . . well, we all know what's on her mind more than anything else," he grunted.

Noa folded his arms. "You don't have to pussyfoot around me, Gansley," he said. "Or Mokuba either. We both see her for what she really wants. She has a one-track mind regarding sex."

Mokuba gave a firm nod. "Oh yeah."

"And yet she did act genuinely worried about Yugi just now," Lector remarked. "I wonder if there really is a good person somewhere underneath all that shallow lust."

"If there is, she's nowhere near mature enough to dig her out," Nesbitt growled.

"No, she isn't," Atem agreed. "But perhaps Mai can help her." He sighed and looked back to Yugi. "Hopefully away from here."

Everyone thoroughly agreed. They had enough stress right now.

". . . I wonder how Yugi and Umbra are doing," Téa said softly.

"Hey, when Yugi's there, there's nothing to worry about," Joey said. "They're probably more than halfway home by now!"

Lumis looked up at the projected clock. "It's been less than an hour. . . ."

"Yeah, but Yug breezes through challenges and games," Joey insisted. "They'll be here way before that clock counts down!"

Lumis wasn't so sure, but he laid his hand on Umbra's and didn't say anything else.

". . . I wonder why we were given this chance to save both," Atem remarked. "Surely there must have been other occasions where more than one person needed to be brought back at the same time, and yet there's apparently no record of something like this in the past. . . ."

"There does not mean there never was," Para said.

"History is often remembered with flaws," Dox added.

Yami Bakura gave a dark smirk. That was certainly true.

"Anyway, who cares why?" Joey retorted. "The important thing is that the chance was given to them! And they're gonna be back!"

"That's true," Atem said. "But I still can't help wondering why. If nothing else, it gives me something else to think about. . . ." He sighed and rested his hand on Yugi's.

"I'm also surprised that Lumis even gave Yugi that chance," Tristan said low. "Especially since that means it's not a guarantee he can get Umbra back."

"It should show that he's better than you think he is, Tristan," Atem said. "I'll admit I was somewhat surprised myself, but I am so grateful. I know they'll be back."

Tristan slowly nodded. "Yeah. . . ." He scowled. "I always end up looking like a real jerk when I don't trust these people and then they do things like this. . . ."

"It would be foolish and unrealistic to simply trust everyone right away, especially people who have already hurt you or your friends in the past," Gansley said.

"I guess so." Tristan shoved his hands in his pockets. "But I can't think of anyone who hasn't proved themselves worthy of being trusted after all."

"Vivian," Nesbitt growled.

". . . Right," Tristan conceded.

Bakura turned away, staring out the window at the city below.

Yami Bakura stepped close to him. "Are you still regretting not being able to use the tiara yourself?" he asked.

"I can't deny it still hurts, especially with this option being offered to save multiple people after all," Bakura quietly replied. "I thought I had decided I couldn't bring Mother and Amane back with a disaster as the price, but then when I learned there was only one available slot, it still felt like a devastating blow. I suppose in my subconscious, I still considered that there was that chance for them." He gripped the windowsill. "But then Yami Marik had to come and ruin all that. He took poor Yugi! So now I'm mourning my friend as well as mourning the loss of the chance to save my family." He bit his lip. "I don't know if I can stay here. . . ."

"Do you want to go then?" Yami Bakura wondered.

Bakura sighed. "Maybe I will," he said. "But for right now I want to try to stick it out. I want to know they will get back safely."

Yami Bakura nodded. "Alright. But don't try to stay on if you feel you cannot. That won't help anyone."

"I know," Bakura agreed. He tried to smile. "Thank you, Yami. . . ."

Yami Bakura shrugged and grunted.

They were talking low enough that most did not overhear. Lumis did, however, but he opted not to speak. He wasn't a comforting sort and didn't know what to say. He didn't even know what it would be like to have multiple people he cared about so much.

He gripped Umbra's hand, longing above all else to feel some life coming back into it. But of course it was too soon to hope for that. He would just have to keep waiting and hoping.

At least Umbra had a chance, unlike that poor Bakura kid's dead loved ones. . . . But at least too, Bakura had other loved ones who were still alive.

Although . . . maybe Lumis wasn't as alone as he felt. Duke had defended him and Atem had allowed him to take the tiara. . . .

It was nice, at least, to think that maybe he had other friends now too.

No one could replace Umbra, though.

xxxx

Yugi stepped over a fallen log in his path as he and Umbra wandered through the forest. So far the world was a lot like Capsule Monsters, with Duel Monsters everywhere who were both friend and foe. As in Capsule Monsters, they were initially inside containers, usually Chinese vases or boxes. Each container was marked with the same symbols that were on the Chinese magical items. When released, however, the Duel Monsters would walk with their new masters and never return to any container. Yugi and Umbra had acquired two monster allies already, and they were currently searching for either their next battle or whatever else was set up to challenge them.

"I still haven't been able to figure out what we're really supposed to do here," Yugi said at last. "This world reminds me a lot of Shadi's Capsule Monsters dimension. But if this place is connected with the Chinese magical items, why are Duel Monsters here?"

"Search me," Umbra grunted. "Maybe they had Duel Monsters in China too."

"Maybe," Yugi mused. "And if this place really is like Capsule Monsters, eventually we'll have to go through trials of integrity and character."

Umbra made a face. "I'm sure I'll fail at that."

"Don't be so hard on yourself!" Yugi retorted. "You're not a bad guy. You even saved Serenity's life before you really decided to reform!" He smiled. "And you sure mean the world to Lumis."

Umbra sighed but smiled too. "It's strange how we went from not getting along to being close like that."

"I'm sure Lector and Nesbitt could relate," Yugi said. "They have a similar story."

Umbra thoughtfully nodded. "Actually, I see a little of us in them," he admitted. "Lumis definitely has Nesbitt's reckless impulsiveness. Although what a lot of people don't realize is that he's also the most intellectual between us."

"I think that's great," Yugi smiled. "It shows he's a really well-rounded, unique person."

"And he never even got as far as college," Umbra said. "He taught himself most of what he knows and learned the rest on the streets." He shook his head. "While I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth."

Yugi blinked in surprise. "Your family was rich?"

"Still is," Umbra said gruffly. "I'm just not a part of it anymore. They wanted to dictate every part of what I did, and when I refused to be controlled like that, well, bam, there went my inheritance and my family."

"They don't even care about you anymore?" Yugi sadly realized. That would be another way he could relate to Lector.

"I don't know," Umbra admitted. "Maybe they tried to find me when I left, or maybe they just figured I was no good and I wasn't worth looking for. None of them showed up when Lumis and I got arrested. It was in all the papers."

"When we get back, maybe you should try looking them up," Yugi encouraged. "Maybe they've been going out of their minds worrying about you and just haven't been able to find you. Umbra isn't your real name, is it?"

"No," Umbra grunted. "But by now it's just kind of stuck." He didn't seem willing to volunteer what his name really was, but Yugi didn't care about that.

"That's kind of nice, though," Yugi said. "Yours and Lumis's names do fit together well."

Umbra vaguely nodded but fell silent for a while. ". . . If we don't make it back, how do you think the others will manage?" His worry bled into his voice.

"Oh. . . ." Yugi looked away. He didn't want to have to think about that, although he couldn't deny he had such concerns too. "I think they'd be really sad, but they'd be able to get through it," he said carefully.

"But you're the emotional support, the rock, among all your friends," Umbra said. "You brought all of them together. If you're gone . . ."

"They're strong enough with each other," Yugi said softly. "And they'd help Lumis too. . . ."

"I don't think anything could help Lumis." Umbra sounded morose. "He would just shatter. He's never had anyone who cared about him but me. He clings to me a lot because of that."

"That must be kind of hard on you sometimes," Yugi said.

"It's not like I've really had anyone else either," Umbra shrugged. "And when I thought I was going to lose him . . . I didn't handle it much better."

"That's how it is when you really love someone," Yugi said. He sighed. "The only reason I was able to let Atem go was because I thought that would be better for him and that it was what he really wanted. But even thinking I knew that . . . I never stopped missing him and wanting him back. And he wanted to be with me and the others so much too, or he wouldn't have finally come back."

"Too bad it's not that simple for us to get back." Umbra brushed a stubborn branch out of his face.

"Well, I wouldn't say it was simple," Yugi said. "He was in the afterlife for several months. But then Shadi came and offered him a rare second chance opportunity and he took it." He smiled.

"Wasn't it hard for him to leave when he had loved ones there too?" Umbra wondered.

Yugi hesitated. "I worried sometimes about that, but he insisted that while he was sad to leave them, he'd grown close to me in a way that he hadn't with anyone from his past, so he wanted to be with me and the others the most. And someday we'll all be together in the afterlife. I guess Mahad, at least, is still with him now. Oh, that's the Dark Magician," he quickly explained. "He was assigned to protect Atem in Egypt, and he became the Dark Magician so he could continue to protect him through the ages."

Umbra shook his head. "That's some devotion."

"I think all of us have at least one person we'd be willing to do anything for," Yugi said. "I hope so, anyway."

Umbra fell silent. He definitely felt that way about Lumis.

A roar startled them both back to the present.

"What was that?!" Umbra exclaimed.

Yugi gasped as the Duel Monster in question stepped into view. "Oh my gosh! It's a Giant Rex!"

The dinosaur roared again, fiercely showing all of its overly sharp teeth.

"I'm pretty sure T-Rexes don't have sails on their backs!" Umbra said. While he stared at the creature in horror, his and Yugi's Duel Monsters ran out in front of them to prepare for battle.

"I don't know why Pegasus called that one a Rex, but he did anyway," Yugi said. "And none of our monsters are powerful enough to stand up to it!"

Umbra snarled. "That Shadi character didn't explain any of the rules to us! What happens if we lose all of our Duel Monsters?!"

"We probably don't want to know!" Yugi frantically looked around for another of the Chinese boxes that held Duel Monsters. To his relief, he spotted one and touched it. A Maha Vailo stepped out.

"Well, that's just great!" Umbra threw his hands in the air. "He's too weak also!"

"If we could just find a magic card," Yugi moaned. "You'd think they'd have some here somewhere!"

The Maha Vailo looked around too. "Here's one," he announced, and grabbed a glowing sphere out of a tree.

"It talks?!" Umbra said in disbelief.

"He's a human Duel Monster, so why not?" Yugi smiled. "And alright! It's Mage Power! That's 500 points by itself, and 500 more because of Maha Vailo's special ability!"

The Giant Rex was quickly defeated with one last roar.

Umbra let out a shaking breath. "Okay. I'm guessing things are only going to get more dangerous from here."

"Probably," Yugi said in concern. "We'd know it wouldn't just be a walk in the park . . . er, forest."

"How much time do we have left?" Umbra asked.

Yugi took out the watch and opened it. "A little less than five hours."

"Then let's keep going. There aren't any more of those equip spells around here, are there?" Umbra studied the tree the Maha Vailo had visited.

"It doesn't look like it," Yugi said.

"Then we'd better pray nothing happens to Maha Vailo," Umbra said. "Right now, he's our best hope."

Yugi nodded in worried agreement.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes: Thanks to Azalea542 for plot help!**

**Chapter Eight**

Nesbitt had been silent for quite some time as they waited. That wasn't necessarily an unusual circumstance, but somehow Lector had the feeling that it was a concerning one, especially right now. Nesbitt usually tended to completely blow up during crises. For him to not, instead of finding it a relief, Lector couldn't help worrying that meant something was very wrong.

"Nesbitt," he finally said, "I wish you'd talk to us. . . ."

Nesbitt growled. "When I talk during disasters, I always end up hurting someone. Usually you. It's better if I'm quiet."

Pain filled Lector's eyes. "You've been better at that for a long time now," he said. "I don't want you to have to be afraid to talk because of the past. . . ."

Nesbitt gripped his arms. "The last time someone was actually dead, I crushed you so badly."

". . . This is bringing back memories for you of when Gansley was killed in that Shadow Game, isn't it?" Lector realized.

Nesbitt nodded. "Yes. . . ."

Lector drew an arm around Nesbitt's shoulders and hugged him close. "We've both grown a lot since then. Me too."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Nesbitt objected.

"I agreed that there was no choice but to leave Gansley's body behind because it would have taken too many of us to carry him," Lector said. "I was afraid it would slow us down too much and we'd be attacked again for certain. If I had the chance to do it over, I would never leave him. Of course, I pray to God that we will never be in such a situation again. But you were right to be angry, Nesbitt! I didn't do what I should have done! You were the one who really knew."

"You were being logical, like I should have been." Nesbitt finally turned and faced him. "Even if I was right that we shouldn't have left Gansley, it was no excuse for how I treated you. I let my grief talk for me and shatter you when you already didn't know how you were going to stand it. I'll never get over that."

Lector managed a sad smile. "I know." He hesitated. "You aren't . . . angry at me now, are you? For needing to be rescued so you had to jump in and Yugi had to save you?"

Nesbitt stared at him in shock. "No! I'm only angry at myself that I couldn't have pulled us both out of range so we would have been safe and Yugi wouldn't have had to do what he did!"

"Oh Nesbitt. . . ." Lector laid his hands on Nesbitt's shoulders. "You did all you could."

"It just wasn't good enough," Nesbitt growled.

"I wish I had been able to get out of the way, or that I hadn't been close enough to be targeted in the first place," Lector said. "But then somebody else would have been. There wasn't any way that situation could have gone without causing a great deal of heartache."

"I hate that monster," Nesbitt snarled. "My only comfort is that maybe now he's gone for good."

"I wouldn't count on it," Atem interjected. "Perhaps it claimed his soul, but I would doubt a soul can ever be destroyed. Wherever he is, I'm afraid he endures."

"No! . . ." Nesbitt snarled helplessly.

"The only positive thing about that theory is that it also means our souls can never be destroyed," Gansley said. "And after all the supernatural nonsense we've been exposed to, that should be encouraging."

Well, Nesbitt certainly couldn't deny that.

Marik sighed and looked away. Every time Yami Marik caused trouble, he couldn't help feeling responsible. The demon wouldn't exist to keep coming around if Marik hadn't created him. In his darkest moments, he even wondered if he still would have done it if he had consciously known what was happening. He had been in such a bad mental place that he honestly couldn't say he wouldn't have. Yami Marik had been created as a protector, someone to shield him from the betrayals of those he trusted and loved. But Yami Marik had terrifyingly developed his own mind and soul and had betrayed Marik when causing mindless destruction had sounded so much more fun.

Rishid laid a hand on Marik's shoulder. He knew what his brother was thinking, at least in part. He wished he could take all of the boy's pain unto himself so Marik could be fully happy. But he also knew that could never be. He had tried that with all his might in the past, but Marik had still borne much sorrow and sadness. The best thing Rishid could do for him was to be there for him.

The door opened and Serenity came in. "How are things?" she asked.

"About the same, Sis," Joey sighed. "Did Mai take Vivian out of the building?"

"No," Serenity said. "She was worried Vivian would act up in the street, so they went in the storeroom."

"Probably a good idea," Joey said.

Serenity looked around the room and focused on Lumis still sitting sadly with Umbra. Before anyone quite processed it, she was walking over to him. "How are you, Mr. Lumis?"

Lumis started and looked up at her. From his expression, he wasn't sure whether he was more shocked that she was talking to him or that she had called him _Mister._ "How would you think I am?" he retorted.

"Watch it," Joey growled.

Undaunted, Serenity sat down next to him. "I know it's not exactly the same, but I do know what it's like to watch over a loved one and not know if they're going to come back," she said softly. "Joey . . . died in his duel against Yami Marik." She choked at the memory.

Lumis looked at her in shock. "He did?!"

Serenity nodded. "The doctors revived him, but we still didn't know if he was going to wake up. And then poor Mai was in a coma with her mind under the Shadow Realm's influence the whole time. . . ."

Lumis looked down at Umbra. "How did you stand it?"

"It was hard," Serenity said. "The only way I could get by at all was to keep having faith in Joey. I knew he'd keep fighting. And . . . it helped to have my friends watching over him with me, too. I know you probably don't feel comfortable talking to anybody but Mr. Umbra, but if you want to, I'm here." She smiled at him.

Lumis looked up again, further stunned. For a moment he wasn't even sure how to reply. But he could see she meant every word. ". . . Th-Thank you," he stammered at last.

Serenity smiled. "Sure."

Atem frowned a bit. They really hadn't been reaching out that much to Lumis, perhaps assuming he preferred being left alone, perhaps so caught up in their grief and worry over Yugi that they didn't focus much on the other problem. But Serenity had seen the need and had stepped up to make sure it wasn't ignored.

Lumis was silent for a long time, just sitting with Serenity as he watched over Umbra. Most, if not all, of them didn't think he would really take Serenity up on her offer at all. But after a while he actually spoke.

"I suppose Marik was actually the first person who really treated me like I was somebody, not just a freak like everyone else did," Lumis remarked. "So I joined the Rare Hunters and learned how to duel. Then Marik wanted me to work with Umbra and he threw us together. We didn't even like each other at first! We preferred working alone and our personalities clashed, badly. But as we worked together more and more, we started developing a certain bond. When we saw how powerful we were when we used our teamwork strategy in duels, we never wanted to be apart again."

"So it was all about power at first?" Serenity asked.

"Yes," Lumis said. "But then for my part, I really started gravitating to Umbra because he liked me and wanted me around. If you've never been an outcast, you wouldn't understand, but . . . that meant . . . so much. It was incredible . . . like he was handing me the whole world for the first time in my life."

"I've been an outcast sometimes," Serenity said softly. "Growing up, I couldn't see very well and couldn't do a lot of the things the other kids at school did, so I was often left alone."

Joey clenched a fist. If they could have stayed together, he would have made sure Serenity never had to be alone.

"I guess I was just needy at first . . . but somewhere along the way I realized I cared about Umbra not just because he wanted me around, but for his own merits. By the time of Battle City, we trusted each other implicitly and I didn't think anything could destroy that. Kaiba tried to during our duel, and for a few minutes I faltered. . . . People had betrayed me before, and Umbra had been so angry with me when our attack failed. . . . I thought maybe he was going to turn against me too. But he didn't, and then I felt horrible for letting Kaiba manipulate me into doubting him. I wanted revenge on Kaiba for that. But it was my own fault, my own shortcoming. Kaiba just took advantage of that." Lumis sighed.

"But everything was okay after that, wasn't it?" Serenity asked. "You must have made up. . . ."

"Yes, we did," Lumis said. "Umbra didn't tell me until recently, but he could have lost me after that duel, when I was in a coma because of Marik. The doctors wanted him to end life support, but he wouldn't."

Serenity smiled. "He's a true friend who believes in you."

Lumis nodded. ". . . He was nicer after that duel, although I didn't fully know why until he told me these things. But sometimes he'd bossed me around and I hated that. I thought it was because he felt superior to me, being bigger. He told me after I woke up that he actually felt _in_ferior, because I was more intellectual in spite of his wealthy upbringing. He didn't know how to compete with that, so he played up what he felt was his one strength over me. He was sorry about it then."

"Friends should feel equal to each other," Téa commented.

"And after that, we really did. More often, at least," Lumis said. He scowled. "I don't know why I'm telling all of this."

"I guess it needed to come out," Serenity said. "It's hard, to always keep things inside. Especially when horrible things happen to loved ones. . . ."

Lumis growled, but it trailed off into a choked whimper. "He's all I have," he said hopelessly. "I don't just love him because I need him, but . . . but I . . ." He shook his head. "Everything is just meaningless without him!"

"It's going to be alright," Serenity soothed. "He's going to come back. I know he will! He and Yugi will both wake up and then everything will be happy again."

"Is that what you told yourself when your brother was hurt?" Lumis asked.

"That's right," Serenity said. "And it was true."

"But life doesn't always go the way you want it to or the way it even should." The bitterness permeated through Lumis's voice. "My life was mostly entirely about cruelty and betrayal and being ganged up on because I wasn't 'normal.' I had that one bright spot of knowing Umbra, and that was what made him happiest as well, but it would be just like life to pull us apart and keep us apart, plunging us both into the darkness again!" He hit the couch arm with his hand. "Why did I choose that third option? Why didn't I pick one of the disasters so Umbra coming back would be a sure thing?!"

". . . Because you're a better person than everyone's told you you are. Probably better than you've even thought about yourself."

Everyone started when Nesbitt spoke. He had stepped forward, his eyes filled with determination and understanding. He knew what he was talking about because that was his own story as well.

"As much as you want Umbra back, you couldn't just turn your back on the kid," Nesbitt continued. "You had to pick that third option to give them both a chance. And maybe, if you need another reason for it, you weren't sure if either of those disasters would come back to bite you both if you chose one of them. That's a logical thing to wonder and a good reason to hold off when you had another possibility."

Lumis just stared at Nesbitt for a long moment, then away. It was true, certainly, that people had always treated him with negativity and told him how bad he was. Even Marik's interest had been because he wanted to make use of Lumis as a criminal. Umbra and Lumis had each thought of themselves as bad people, and although they saw the good in each other, they hadn't spoken of it. Now they were trying to be good, but Lumis supposed he still thought of himself as bad, just out for himself and doing what he thought would be the most advantageous to himself and Umbra.

But . . . his heart really had changed, hadn't it? He hadn't been able to abandon Yugi, even with the chance right in front of him to make absolutely sure Umbra came back.

Serenity smiled. "I'm glad we're getting the chance to really know you, Mr. Lumis. And I'm going to keep believing in our friends. I know life doesn't always work out the way you want, but I'm sure it will in this case. They're going to be okay!"

Lumis looked down at Umbra. There was still no change, and the clock continued to count down the remainder of the six hours. But Umbra hadn't given up on Lumis when all had seemed lost. Lumis wouldn't give up either. He slowly reached out and gripped Umbra's hand.

"I won't stop believing," he vowed. "Umbra, I'll be right here for you until you come back . . . just like you were for me."

Lector's heart swelled. Serenity and Nesbitt together had given Lumis the light of hope. And from the way Nesbitt had spoken, it was clear that he was at least starting to realize the same thing about himself. Lector and the others always tried to tell Nesbitt he was a good person, but his self-confidence took another beating every time he made a mistake or lashed out at any of them during a crisis. For him to be able to stand up and acknowledge that he was a good person was a huge step.

Gansley recognized the same thing. "Well said." He smiled gruffly yet firmly at Nesbitt.

"You're finally realizing it after all this time!" Crump chirped.

Johnson smiled. It was definitely a significant moment.

Nesbitt went a bit red, but he nodded. "You . . . all of you . . . have shown me that truth about myself. And even though that's still not always easy for me to believe and accept, I do know I'd do anything for you. And not just the four of you, but . . ." He turned to look around the office. ". . . I would fight for everyone in this room, and the others we care about who aren't in here right now. For me to feel like that, I . . . can't be a bad person."

"And you aren't," Lector smiled with fondness. "You most certainly aren't." He hesitated, then came closer and drew Nesbitt close in a firm embrace. "And you can't imagine how happy it makes me to hear you finally say that."

Nesbitt couldn't, but he had some idea. He shut his eyes tightly and hugged back. It felt good to realize it too. It was certainly a weight off his heart.

Bakura turned to look, a sad smile playing on his lips. Someday, he hoped Yami Bakura would come to a similar realization. He had certainly made progress, but Bakura knew he still didn't fully see himself as decent.

Sensing the boy's thoughts, Yami Bakura rolled his eyes and looked away.

Seto just stood by, observing the different conversations. He didn't really have anything to contribute, so he stayed quiet and just waited. He still had full confidence that Yugi would figure out how to get himself and Umbra out of their mess. But it was all still so very bizarre, being caught up in a supernatural problem of this magnitude. He supposed he would have to accept that his life was always going to be about magic, as much as the thought embittered him.

Noa looked to Mokuba and walked over near the corner of the office. Sensing he wanted to talk, Mokuba followed.

"All of them really have changed," Noa mused. "Or maybe I'm the one who really changed. I stuck my nose up at all of them before. They were Father's employees, people who should wait on me hand and foot if I so desired. Then I felt so hateful towards them all when they complained about virtual reality. They got to stay together in it and I had to be all alone! I wanted them to know what it was like to be me. When I'd had enough of them, first I separated all of them and then I 'deleted' them from my world." He trembled. "How did I get that far gone?"

"You were in there so long, Noa," Mokuba said softly. "It really just warped your mind. The Big Five got really bad off as it was when they'd only been in there a few weeks and were still together. You were all alone for six years. Gozaburo was even in there and he just wouldn't come to you!" Tears pricked his eyes. "He hurt so many people, and then the hurt spread."

Noa sighed. "I guess that's all I can tell myself, but it really doesn't help much."

"That's how it is for everyone just trying to start back being good again," Mokuba said. "I've seen it with a lot of these guys. But maybe someday you'll be able to start feeling better about yourself, like Nesbitt is now."

"I hope so," Noa said. "I can still hardly believe that anyone can forgive me."

"I think that's how a lot of the changes ended up happening, because of forgiveness," Mokuba said. "And it's not always easy. But like for me, I try to see things from both sides. Sometimes it works better than other times, but I really try hard."

"By now I certainly see all of the Big Five in a whole new light," Noa said. "Lector tried so hard to look after me, even though I wouldn't have any of it. And the others . . . they're all good people too, who maybe lost their way for a little bit but are trying to come back. And everyone lets them. . . ."

"Things are really good right now, for the most part," Mokuba said. "It's like we're all one big happy family." He sighed. "I just hope we're still all going to be together after this. . . ."

Noa looked to where Yugi and Umbra were still laying on the couches. "I hope so too," he said. "But I think we will be."

Mokuba smiled. "Yeah. . . ."

". . . I wonder if I should call my mom and let her know I'm okay," Noa mused. "I hate to tell her what's happening, though. . . ."

"You should probably call her," Mokuba agreed. "It's been a real long time and she's probably super worried. But maybe you don't have to say that anything bad happened to anyone. . . ."

"Not without lying," Noa sighed. "She'll ask if the Paradox Brothers took the tiara, and I'll have to say No, and then she'll ask why." He shook his head. "Oh well. She'll know I'm safe and that Yami Marik character is gone." He started over to Duke's desk to use his landline phone.

"You haven't asked anything about Yami Marik," Mokuba said. "Do you already know about him?"

"I found out while I was watching over everyone from the afterlife," Noa said. He picked up the receiver and started to dial.

"That makes sense," Mokuba mused.

xxxx

Umbra was wearing down. The number of fights they had been getting into had been increasing the deeper they traveled into the forest. And even though they had collected another Duel Monster and two more equip spells, the monsters they encountered were becoming more and more fierce and powerful. Several times there had been no option but retreat.

Yugi stopped running and leaned forward, breathing heavily as he placed his hands on his knees. "Oh wow. I don't know what we're going to do if this keeps up," he gasped.

Umbra leaned on a tree with one hand. "I never knew spirits could breathe," he remarked. He was taking in air himself, or seemed to be.

"Maybe it's just a reflex," Yugi said, "or maybe there really is some kind of atmosphere on the spirit planes too. I mean, since there are spirit bodies, why not spirit air?" He gave a weak smile. "Or maybe I'm just being crazy."

"It seems to make sense right now." Umbra finally straightened. "So what are we going to do? That last monster was the Masked Beast Des Gardius, ironically enough. If they're just going to keep getting stronger, we're going to keep running into more and more trouble!"

"Yeah. . . ." Yugi frowned. "And there haven't been any monsters that strong for us to get hold of. Maybe we need to pile all our equip spells on Maha Vailo . . . or maybe we're supposed to try to get one or more of the stronger monsters we've found on our side."

"What?!" Umbra stared at him in disbelief. "That beast we just ran from wanted to slice and dice us, not help us escape from here!"

"I know." Yugi frowned. "But I wonder if there was a reason we ran into him specifically. I mean, he's your and Lumis's signature monster. What if you could get through to him?"

Umbra rocked back. "I don't like where this is going. How could I get through to him?!"

"I'm not sure, but it makes sense," Yugi said. "In Capsule Monsters, oddly enough, a lot of the monsters we found were ones we'd known and loved for ages. And here, we've also been finding our special monsters. You have Melchid the Four-Face Beast and Rogue Doll, and I have Maha Vailo and Silent Swordsman. Don't you think that's a little too much to be a coincidence?"

"I guess," Umbra frowned.

"So following that line of thinking, it absolutely makes sense that Masked Beast Des Gardius is supposed to be with us!" Yugi continued.

Umbra groaned. ". . . Even if you're right, how are we going to get back to where we left it?"

A powerful growl startled them both. The Duel Monsters stiffened, preparing to fight as a claw cut through the branches and left several on the ground at once.

". . . I guess we don't have to," Yugi said weakly. "He's come over to us."

"And just look what he did there!" Umbra pointed at the branches. "He's after destruction, not teamwork!"

The gargantuan Duel Monster came out of the trees, again swiping a huge claw. As it fell towards Yugi, Maha Vailo and Silent Swordsman both blasted in desperation, despite knowing there was no chance that they could actually defeat him. The beast fell back with a roar and Yugi's monsters also tumbled back, some of their strength gone from fighting something so much more powerful than they. In a moment Des Gardius was up again and charging Yugi.

There was nothing else Umbra could do. He ran forward, pushing Yugi to the ground and standing in front of him. _"Stop!"_ He shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself for the feel of the claws ripping through him. If spirits could breathe, maybe they could also be hurt by things on their plane. Maybe it would even be worse than in mortality, since there would be no death as an escape. . . .

The claw didn't fall. Finally Umbra opened an eye, stunned. Des Gardius was just standing there, towering over him, the claw suspended in mid-air.

Umbra drew a shaking breath. ". . . Do you . . . recognize me?" It sounded ridiculous to ask, and yet maybe it made some level of sense.

Des Gardius growled.

"I need you to not hurt him," Umbra said. "We're not enemies anymore. We're just trying to get out of here and go back to our loved ones in the mortal world. Lumis is there. Please . . . will you help us?"

For a long moment Des Gardius just stood over him, silently intimidating. Umbra couldn't help but be reminded of the terror he had felt facing Seto's Obelisk. Although now, with this monster, it was feeling less and less terrifying and more and more familiar.

Yugi was still on the ground, having decided staying down would be the safest option until they knew what Des Gardius would decide. He looked up with wide eyes, gripping the grass, praying that there would be some recognition . . . some affection, even.

At last Des Gardius backed down. He growled again, but more out of communication than cruelty.

Umbra's shoulders slumped. They were safe.

"You did it!" Yugi exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. "It's going to be okay now; he's going to join us!"

"I can hardly believe I really stood up to him," Umbra said. "Or that I protected you. . . ."

"You protected Serenity from a Shadow Ghoul," Yugi reminded him.

"I know, but that thing was a lot smaller." Umbra shuddered. "I was always struck with fear when Kaiba sicced his Obelisk on me. And here I just ran out right in front of those claws. . . ."

"You did what you had to do," Yugi said. "That's always really important, what someone does when they have to choose whether to be brave or run away and there's no time for a lengthy debate about it." He smiled. "If I was here alone, it might have been Game Over for me. But because we're working together, we both have our best chance."

"Oh, you'd never fail," Umbra objected. "You're the King of Games!"

"It was really Atem who earned that title, but that's not something I can easily explain to most people," Yugi said. "I never would have made it through all those adventures without him."

"As I understood it from what Mr. Devlin said, the Pharaoh went into the afterlife because you proved you could stand without him," Umbra said. "You're stronger than you know."

Yugi looked at him in complete seriousness. "So are you."

Umbra averted his gaze. Well . . . maybe Yugi had something there. He really hadn't thought himself capable of what he had just done. It was a nice discovery, at least.

"Okay," he said. "We've got Des Gardius on our side, so what do you think is next?"

"I don't know, but by now more than half our total time is gone," Yugi worried. "Let's get going and see where the rest of this world takes us."

Umbra nodded. "Let's go," he said to the Duel Monsters.

The creatures all fell into step with them, including Des Gardius. Together they headed back into the unknown . . . and towards whatever challenges still lay between them and the bridge back to their loved ones.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

As the time wound down and the final hour began, everyone grew all the more tense. Seto, who had continued to be quiet, still believed they would make it. He wouldn't be surprised if they came through at the last possible moment. Anything to be dramatic, he thought with mounting sarcasm.

Téa had grown very tense. "Where could they be?!" she exclaimed. "There's not much time!"

Lumis gripped a handful of Umbra's shirt. "They're going to be here," he snarled. "They're going to . . . !"

"Of course they will be," Atem agreed. But as the clock ticked ominously on, he couldn't deny the fear rising in his heart. What if . . . horribly . . . they didn't make it in time? Would they really not be allowed back, even if it hadn't been their time to die? It surely couldn't have been their time or the chance wouldn't have been offered to them, would it? Were people allowed to appeal to go back even if it was their time?

He ran a hand over his face. As much as he wanted to, he really didn't understand any of this.

Joey's phone dinged and he looked at it. "Mai says Vivian's going nuts. She started knocking stuff down in the storeroom and Duke and David had to rush in to stop her!"

"She's that worried about Yugi?" Tristan said in disbelief.

"Or she's just mad that she's being kept down there," Joey said. "Now they have to rout her out."

"She's not coming back up here?!" Téa exclaimed.

". . . Mai wonders if she might calm down if Lector's with her," Joey said.

Nesbitt went stiff. "No!"

Lector groaned. "I've already given her the wrong ideas and encouraged her without meaning to. I don't think I can do anything else without it causing more harm than good."

Joey quickly texted that to Mai. "You're probably right," he said. "Man, she's a character from the word Go! I dunno what any of us can do with her!"

"Mai must be at her wit's end too," Nesbitt grunted.

They all heard the loud crash and wail from downstairs.

". . . I guess she read Mai's text," Joey realized.

Tristan slapped his forehead. "Is she serious?!"

Lector shut his eyes tightly and finally turned to the door. "I suppose I'll have to go," he said. "We can't have her breaking the store."

"And we can't have her fondling you either," Gansley retorted.

"I won't let her," Lector insisted.

"Of course not," Nesbitt grunted. "Especially since you'll have help keeping her away."

Vivian was flying up the stairs just as Lector opened the door. Without skipping a beat, she ran up and embraced him. At the bottom of the stairs, Mai and Duke both facepalmed. David just shook his head.

"They're trying to keep me away from everyone!" Vivian fumed.

Nesbitt immediately made a move towards her, but Lector was already easing her back from him. "That's because you've been making a scene," he told her. "If you could just settle down and be considerate of everyone else, they would let you stay."

"And you don't want me either," she said morosely.

"I took you to dinner to be a gentleman, but I'm afraid you read more into it even though I said there wasn't anything else," Lector said. "I don't want to make any more mistakes like that; it isn't good for either of us."

Vivian pouted. "What if I changed?"

"I'm honestly not interested in any romantic relationship right now," Lector said. "But regardless of that, you've been extremely bent out of shape today about Yugi."

"What does that have to do with it?" Vivian retorted. "I love Yugi too!"

"You can love many people, but you can't be _in love_ with many," Lector said. "As I recall, you have felt romantically attracted to Yugi and Mr. Kaiba in the past, and I have no reason to believe you don't still have that interest in Yugi, at least. If I was going to get romantically involved with someone, she would have to be completely faithful to me." He folded his arms. "I don't think you could do that."

Vivian looked away with a scowl. She had to admit Lector was probably right. The thought of only focusing on one man sounded impossible to her. She adored Yugi, and Seto, and Lector, and Nesbitt, and others too. She wanted them all! But Lector wouldn't put up with that, and she doubted Nesbitt or Seto would either. Yugi might be too sweet to protest at first, but eventually maybe he would also get fed-up.

". . . I want to stay until Yugi wakes up, but then I guess I should go," she finally conceded.

Lector started to relax in relief. "I think you should. There's nothing for you here."

"Unless you wanna help the Paradox Brothers take this stuff back to China," Joey said.

The Brothers shot him a Look.

"We do not need help," Para snapped. "Especially from her."

"Particularly since she would rather look at men and purr," Dox added.

"Hey! I can be serious about my job!" Vivian cried. "And I was actually asked to get these things back! You two just came on your own!"

"Truthfully, we were asked that same day," Para said.

"Your friend was afraid that from your task you would stray," Dox said.

"_WHAT?!"_ Vivian screamed.

"Be quiet!" Lumis suddenly snapped. "There's only twenty minutes left!"

Everyone did indeed fall silent again. No matter how strongly they believed everything would be alright, it grew more and more worrisome as the window of opportunity ticked itself shut. Even Vivian forgot her indignation over the Paradox Brothers' announcement. For now, even she would behave.

"Oh Yugi," Téa whispered, leaning over her oldest friend. "Please don't stop fighting! You have to make it back! You just have to!"

Lumis clutched Umbra's hand, praying and hoping against hope to feel some movement. With so few minutes left, what could be happening over there?

xxxx

Masked Beast Des Gardius crashed through the forest, attacking whatever Duel Monsters got in its way as it continued on its desperate mission. Yugi and Umbra were clinging to its back for dear life. With time running down, Yugi had decided they should ride the rest of the way. Umbra had been more than a little reluctant, but had finally agreed. He was behind Yugi, trying to keep the boy balanced while also holding onto the creature. With all the movement of battle, that was no easy task.

"There's only ten minutes left!" Yugi cried over the sound of crunching logs and boulders.

"And we still don't even know how to get out of here!" Umbra exclaimed.

Des Gardius came to a halt at a rope bridge. He knew his weight would promptly break it.

"What's the problem?" Umbra peered around the beast and then stared. "We have to go over that?!"

Yugi jumped down. "I guess so. Wow, it looks pretty rickety. . . ." He swallowed hard.

"But that looks like everyone else on the other side!" Umbra pointed to a faint scene on the opposite side of the bridge. Indeed, there was Duke's office, and there was everyone gathering around, worrying over Yugi and Umbra laying lifeless on the couches. Umbra cringed. Seeing his own dead body was more than a little surreal and uncomfortable.

Yugi gasped. "Then we have to get across! This is the way home!" He turned to face the Duel Monsters. "Thank you so much for all of your help," he said. "We got here barely in time, and it's all thanks to all of you."

Maha Vailo nodded. "We were honored to be of help. Go now, Master."

Still rather uncomfortable with talking to Duel Monsters, Umbra awkwardly nodded. "Yeah. Thanks a lot, all of you. . . ." He stared up at Des Gardius. "Are you really my and Lumis's Des Gardius? The same one who came over to our world?"

Des Gardius growled.

"We were all summoned here to help you win," Silent Swordsman said. "Yes, we're yours."

"That's awesome," Yugi smiled. "Then this isn't Goodbye; we'll definitely be seeing you again!" He started towards the bridge.

Umbra was still confused. "But . . . our Des Gardius already knew Yugi wasn't the enemy. Why the attack at first?"

"He was put under a spell as part of a test of character," Maha Vailo said. "And you passed."

Umbra wasn't sure he liked that. "Did he agree to that?!" he cried.

"Not until he was told it was imperative to your success," Maha Vailo said.

Des Gardius gently shoved Umbra towards the bridge. He stumbled, catching the first wooden spoke. "Alright, I'm going." But he looked back. "Thank you. . . ."

Des Gardius gave a nod.

By now Yugi was halfway across. As Umbra joined him, the bridge began to rock in a disturbing manner. Umbra went stiff, gripping both sides of the rope in terror. "It's not going to hold!"

"It has to hold!" Yugi exclaimed. He looked back. "It's going to be okay, Umbra! We just have to get across and we're home!"

"I know, but . . ." Umbra quaked. As he looked down, the bottom looked horrifyingly similar to the shaft he had fallen through in Battle City. And this time he didn't have a parachute. He choked and shut his eyes. "Maybe if I don't look. . . ."

Yugi peered down at the abyss too. Instead of that scene, he saw what looked like the bottomless pits in Atem's tomb. He shuddered. "Yeah, that's a great idea," he said. "Let's not look."

Again he advanced, slowly, keeping his eyes focused on the scene ahead. The closer they drew, the clearer it became. "There's just a little more now, Umbra," he called. "We're almost there!"

Umbra trembled. He was moving much more slowly than Yugi, and he was still keeping his eyes closed. He couldn't look down, but if his eyes were open, he knew he would see some of the scene below even if he looked ahead. And he couldn't see that place again. His and Lumis's foolishness had almost caused them to die there, even though no one had been supposed to lose. Marik had told them not to let Yugi or Seto die because Marik had other plans for them, Yugi especially. It had only been a distraction. But they had wanted to be prepared and so they had parachutes just in case they lost.

And Umbra had lost. . . .

Even knowing he had the parachute, the terror of falling was something he would never forget. He hadn't even been sure the parachute would work. Then it had, but it had gotten stuck, and he had been forced to hang from that blasted flagpole screaming for help for he didn't know how long. And he hadn't been able to refrain from looking down, at least a couple of times. Then he had tried to keep his eyes shut until he was rescued.

He had developed a phobia of heights from that experience. And if all of that wasn't bad enough, he had been told after his rescue that Lumis was in a coma and completely brain-dead from some unknown cause. Umbra had known the cause. He had heard Marik controlling Lumis on the roof, and he knew what happened to any Rare Hunters he did that to.

He had stayed up all night with his friend, devastated and longing for some kind of a miracle. They didn't deserve it, of course, but he couldn't bear to lose his only friend. It had been a long and agonizing night and day of reflection and figuring out what mattered most. Over and over he had been haunted by how he had snapped at Lumis and blamed him for their failed attack during the duel, when by contrast Lumis had just been worried whether Umbra was alright. It had looked like Lumis would never be alright again, and Umbra had snapped, sobbing and begging his comatose friend's forgiveness.

He had tried his hardest to be a better friend ever since Lumis had been allowed to live. They still argued at times, of course, but they never allowed that to divide them.

"Umbra!"

Umbra started, finally daring to open his eyes.

"You made it across!" Yugi beamed.

Stunned, Umbra looked around. He really had; he was standing on solid ground again. The rope bridge was behind him.

"Come on!" Yugi grabbed his hand. "Let's get home to everyone!"

Umbra was all too willing to hurry along with him. They were really going back. . . .

They passed through a strange film that seemed to be surrounding the barrier between the worlds. As soon as they did, Umbra was suddenly laying down on the couch and Lumis was calling to him.

"Umbra?! Can you hear me?! Please be alright . . . you have to be alright. . . ." His voice shook. "You're out of time. . . ."

Umbra forced his eyes open. "It's alright, Lumis," he rasped. "We made it back. . . ." He stared up at his friend in awe, but the sight only lasted a split-second as Lumis's face filled with joy. Then he lunged forward, clutching Umbra close.

"You're okay!" Lumis exclaimed. "Oh Umbra, you're really okay!"

Umbra hugged him. "Yeah," he said. "Everything's okay now."

Yugi was reviving too. "Hi, guys," he smiled, looking up at Atem and Téa and everyone else who was gathering around.

"Yugi!" Téa cried. "Oh Yugi!"

Yugi was promptly pulled into many hugs at once. Vivian, so happy to see him back, started to run forward to join them all. But then, feeling Mai's gaze on her, she stopped.

Lector stood back with a smile. "They're really back," he said. "It worked. . . ."

Nesbitt finally relaxed. "Thank God."

"You should also thank the boy Noa," Shadi remarked as he suddenly appeared in the room.

Everyone jumped.

"Noa?" Yugi said in surprise.

Noa gawked. "What did I do?"

"You offered to return to the afterlife to allow both of them back," Shadi told him. "That you would think such a thing when you yourself wanted to live was an unselfish act worthy of unlocking this condition for saving them both."

Mokuba stared. "That's awesome!" he beamed.

Noa was still in shock. "I had no idea. . . ."

Atem looked up from his embrace with Yugi. "Then that's why it was offered," he said in surprise.

"Yes," Shadi said. "And now these items must be returned to China before anyone else can use any of them for ill purposes."

"But there's still one in the river in Domino Canyon," Vivian pointed out.

"Return all that you can and come back for the remaining item as the winter fades," Shadi said.

"You know, you know an awful lot about these items," Joey said. "What else can you tell us?!"

"There is nothing else you need to know about them for now, including who their guardian is," Shadi said. "Perhaps at some future time that information will need to be had, but for now, it is unimportant." He looked from Yugi to Umbra. "Congratulations, both of you, on passing the test."

"Well . . . thanks," Yugi said. He was still reeling from all that Shadi had told them.

"I'm still not sure how I made it," Umbra admitted. "I guess . . . you were right, Yugi. . . ."

"Of course I was right," Yugi smiled.

"Right about what?" Lumis asked.

Umbra thought of brushing the question off, but then decided not to. "That I'm stronger than I thought," he mused.

"I think a lot of us are," Serenity said. "Probably every one of us." She looked around at the group. "And as horrible as today was, I think it's brought us all closer together."

Atem considered that. He had been so caught up in grief and worry over Yugi that it was hard for him to fully grasp such a concept, but there had been important development and bonding on many levels. Noa had wondered if he should give up his own chance in order to save both of them. Lumis had decided to try to save Yugi as well as Umbra. Serenity had reached out to him. Nesbitt had finally accepted that he was a good person. And it sounded like Yugi and Umbra had benefited from their journey back as well.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, you're right. And no matter what battles come at us in the future, this strengthened bond will help us fight them and win."

Yugi smiled. He knew he and Atem would share many conversations about what had happened tonight. He would probably have conversations with all of his friends. Lumis and Umbra would no doubt be talking as well. It would take time for all the hurt to heal. But a lot of good definitely had come out of this. Yami Marik, if he knew, must be absolutely on fire with frustration.

Lector looked to Nesbitt. "How are you feeling?"

Nesbitt sighed. "Better, in some ways. But this still shouldn't have happened at all."

"No, it shouldn't have," Gansley agreed. "And I know you will likely struggle with your feelings for some time to come. But at least the outcome was far better than what it could have been."

Nesbitt nodded. "Yeah. . . ."

Noa looked to Mokuba. "I'll need to be getting home now, Mokuba," he said. "But I'll call you."

"Great!" Mokuba beamed.

". . . You know, I wonder how your mom is gonna set you up for things like school and stuff," Crump realized. "I mean, how's she gonna fill out the papers and explain who you are? If there's any checking back, they'll probably find out you were dead and well . . . that's gonna be hard to explain. . . ."

"That's another reason she was keeping me in the house," Noa admitted. "We're still not sure how we're going to work that out. . . ."

"I'm sure we can help you find a way," Johnson said.

Seto scowled. He was also sure that he would end up dragged into it.

"Maybe the only way will be to simply tell everything," Bakura remarked, "no matter how outlandish it sounds."

Yugi looked to him with a start. "Oh . . . are you okay, Bakura?" he asked in concern. "I know you'd wanted to use the tiara for your mom and sister. . . . I'm sorry that didn't work out. . . ."

Bakura tried to smile. "I'll be alright, Yugi," he said. "I'm so glad you and Umbra are back. I'd really quite decided I couldn't use the tiara on my family. I didn't want to cause a disaster to get them back."

"Still, I'm sure this has been really hard for you," Yugi said.

"It's alright," Bakura insisted again.

Yami Bakura watched him carefully. Perhaps so, but he would see to it that they talked tonight as well.

Rishid looked to Marik. "This has been very hard on you as well, Brother," he said.

"I know," Marik said. "I just wish that evil being would leave us for good." He clenched a fist. "There has to be some way to keep him away from us."

"And I pray we will find it," Ishizu said. "But maybe his foolish use of the fox whip has already seen to that; he might not come back from this, even if he has indeed endured."

Marik sighed. "We can only hope."

Mokuba hugged him. "I bet Ishizu's right and he'll stay away for a long time now, at least."

Marik had to smile as he hugged back. "That would be incredible."

Joey looked to the Paradox Brothers. "So, I guess you guys are gonna get going now?"

"Yes, that is correct," Para said.

"We should leave before anything else is wrecked," Dox added.

"But we'll be back when we can get that pendant out of the river," Vivian insisted.

Lumis got up and held the tiara out to them. "You can take this now. . . ."

Dox accepted it. "Every light is now bright," he mused.

"In fifty years, it will be an obsolete sight," Para added.

"And then it will start all over again," Joey said. "Do people try to use the thing every fifty years?"

"Of course," Para said. "One way or another, someone always manages to sneak into its hiding place and wish on it."

"And it restores those it sees fit," said Dox.

"I wonder who really created these things anyway," Joey said. "And if we'll ever know who their guardian is. And why the heck Shadi was working so closely with them?!"

"Probably just because we were involved," Yugi said.

"And honestly, I'd be happy not to ever hear about any of these magic items again," Téa declared. "I'm sure we've all had enough of them!"

No one could deny that.


	10. Epilogue

**Notes: Thanks to Ladyamberjo for plot help!**

**Epilogue**

"_Umbra!"_

Umbra awoke in the middle of the night to a blood-curdling scream from the other bedroom. Sometimes it was difficult to fully process the waking world after being peacefully asleep, but tonight he understood instantly what was happening. It had happened before; Lumis had experienced nightmares of Umbra's parachute not opening, although he had never admitted to it. Tonight, he was no doubt reliving the past day's horrors.

Quickly Umbra threw back the covers and got up, making his way into the hall and then into Lumis's room. The little man was still asleep, clutching a pillow for dear life and sobbing into it.

Umbra gripped Lumis's shoulder, gently but firmly shaking him. "Lumis!"

Lumis jumped a mile. The pillow almost fell from his grasp, but then he managed to grab it again just in time. He always had possessed incredible reflexes. "Umbra? . . ." He laid back down, looking up at his friend.

Umbra sighed. ". . . Do you want to talk about it this time?" Judging from the past, he doubted it, but he felt he should ask.

Lumis went red and looked away. "This time? . . ."

"You don't have to pretend with me," Umbra said. "We both know that whenever something happens to me, you have nightmares about it for a long time."

Finally Lumis nodded. ". . . You're right." He turned back. "It's foolish, though. You're here safe. The nightmare doesn't mean anything."

"It means you're hurting pretty badly about it," Umbra said.

Slowly Lumis sat up. He felt less vulnerable and less like a child that way. Laying down made him remember waking up from nightmares as a boy and his parents generally not being very sympathetic about it.

"I . . . it was awful," he choked out. "You were just standing there, fine, and then the whip cracked and you fell . . . and you didn't get up. . . ." His voice tightened. "I couldn't wake you up!" he sobbed. "I couldn't do anything. . . ."

Umbra imagined this was more about reality than a dream. That was likely how things had really happened earlier. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry. . . ."

"We weren't even doing anything to him or trying to stop him!" Lumis exclaimed. "We were just minding our own business and he . . . he just . . ."

"I know," Umbra sighed.

Lumis looked at him. "You handle things better than me, but . . . aren't you upset at all? Or shaken up or something?"

"I'm really upset," Umbra said. "But I'm not even sure I've fully processed that it all really happened. After I . . . fell, everything seems like a dream, especially now. Even though I know it's not."

". . . Then you're probably numb about it and it'll come back to bite you later," Lumis said.

"Probably," Umbra said. Memories of his reaction to seeing the image of the building shaft below the bridge came back to him. He probably never would stop being shaken up about having fallen during Battle City. Lumis had tried his best to help him through that once he had realized, but it just wasn't something that Umbra could get over.

Lumis hesitated. "When you get to that point, I . . . want you to talk about it," he said. "Just come to me and talk, whenever or wherever it is. You shouldn't keep it bottled up inside, and I . . . I'd like a chance to really do something to help. . . ."

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be here," Umbra frowned. "You used that magic thing to get me back."

"I'm sure any of Yugi's friends would have been shown the same option and chosen it to save you both," Lumis said. "They're good people. I just . . . I didn't really realize that . . . I'm good too. . . ."

Umbra stared at him in surprise for a long moment. "Lumis . . . of course you're good," he said. "I saw that in you all along. I . . . should have told you."

Lumis stared back. "You did?"

"You didn't know," Umbra realized in sickened sorrow. "What did you think I saw in you years ago?"

A shrug. "I never really knew," Lumis said. "Marik saw the potential to be a Rare Hunter, but I never had the feeling that was what you were interested in."

"I saw undying loyalty," Umbra said. "You wanted to be with me. You weren't going to abandon me and move on."

"But Kaiba made me think you were going to do that to me," Lumis said sadly. "I let him manipulate my feelings because I'd been betrayed so many times in the past."

"But then you tried to show me that you weren't going to abandon me," Umbra said. "I never had any thought of abandoning you, even though I was frustrated when our attack failed and I was worried that I should rely on my own strategies after that. But I never should have snapped at you. I knew you wouldn't handle that well, but I was too upset to care at the moment. When I thought you might never wake up . . . I couldn't believe I'd let myself treat you like that."

Lumis smiled a bit. "Umbra . . . I always saw good in you too. You wanted to protect me. . . . Some of the times when you bossed me around, you were really trying to look out for me, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was," Umbra said.

"I hope we never have to get into a situation like this again," Lumis said with a shudder. "I can't take it when you're hurt . . . or worse. . . ."

"I know. And even if I seem to handle things better than you, I can't take it when something happens to you either." Umbra laid a hand on Lumis's shoulder.

"I don't feel like going back to sleep," Lumis said. "Let's get something to eat."

Umbra was slightly amused, but he didn't really want to sleep either. "Okay."

xxxx

Atem sighed to himself as he sat at the kitchen table in the Muto residence. Yugi was sleeping peacefully now, after having many long talks with all of his friends. But for Atem, sleep was not processing. He slowly drank the remains of the hot chocolate Téa had made earlier for them all to share.

"Well, hello there."

Atem started at the voice. Solomon was standing in the doorway with a friendly smile. But despite the easy-going appearance, concern flickered in his eyes.

"Hello," Atem said, suddenly feeling awkward. "Er . . . I'm sorry, this is the last of the hot chocolate. . . . There wasn't much left. . . ."

"That's alright." Solomon came in and sat at the table with him. "But I want to have a talk with you, man to man." He laced his fingers on the table. "I know something terrible happened today. That was obvious in how all of you were acting. What I don't know is what exactly it was. But the fact that I don't know means it must have happened to Yugi. Am I correct?"

Atem swallowed hard. ". . . Yes . . . partially."

"And no one wanted to let me know because they were afraid an old man like me couldn't take it?" Solomon continued.

". . . We were concerned," Atem admitted. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. . . ."

Solomon's eyes narrowed. "I have a right to know what it was," he said. "I'm tougher than I'm given credit for. And Yugi seems to be alright now. . . ."

". . . Yes," Atem agreed. "Now. . . ." This felt very uncomfortable. But he knew Solomon was right; he deserved to know. So did Mrs. Muto, for that matter. It was easier to think of telling Solomon, however.

"Just how bad off was he before?" Solomon all but demanded.

Atem sighed. ". . . He was dead."

Solomon wavered, but quickly caught the edge of the table. "Tell me everything," he exclaimed.

It was difficult to revisit the horrible day, but Atem complied, telling in detail of what had happened and how it had been fixed. Yugi awoke and came in before the tale was through.

"I'm really sorry for putting everyone through so much," Yugi said sadly. "I just didn't know what else to do but run out to save Nesbitt. . . . He and Lector have been through so much lately, and I didn't want to see them suffer any more with being separated. . . . But I didn't want you or anyone else to be sad missing me either, Atem. . . ."

"I know, Yugi." Atem gave him a sad smile. "That's always the problem, isn't it? We want to do what we can to protect our loved ones, but sometimes that means risking or even giving up our own lives for them. I did that in Egypt. You did that today."

"And thank goodness you're alright," Solomon exclaimed. "Yugi . . ." He stared at the boy and slowly shook his head. "I can't believe we almost lost you today. . . . And that this was all going on right across the street!"

"We didn't want to tell you until we knew Yugi was safe, at least," Atem said.

"I understand that, but if anything like this happens again, I want to know toot sweet, do you understand?!" Solomon gave them both a stern look.

"Of course," Atem said. He lowered his gaze to the mug.

"But let's hope nothing like this will happen again," Yugi interjected. He hugged Solomon, then Atem. "I did what I had to do, but I'd rather stay with everyone for a long time to come!"

They both held him close. "And that is most certainly what we want too," Atem said.

For a while the three of them sat and talked. But at last Solomon encouraged them to go on to bed and they both went back in their room, wanting a private conversation more than sleep.

". . . He took it better than I thought he might," Atem said. "I'm relieved."

"Yeah." Yugi looked at his friend. "But you're still really hurting, aren't you?"

Atem sighed. "It's . . . never easy to get over losing you. Losing you to Dartz was worse in one way because it was my fault. But today, when you first fell . . . I didn't know if there was any way to get you back, especially considering the heartless scenario Yami Marik devised. At least with Dartz, I could always believe there was a way to rescue you."

"I'm really sorry," Yugi said softly. "I'm sure that even with knowing I had to try to save Nesbitt, it doesn't make it hurt any less."

"No, it doesn't," Atem admitted. "But at least you're back now, Yugi, and hopefully in time the wounds will heal, even if they leave scars."

"I hope so." Yugi laid his hand on Atem's.

". . . And how do you feel, Yugi?" Atem asked. "Surely it was strange or upsetting for you to be dead. . . ."

Yugi looked down. "It was," he said, "but I didn't really have time to be too upset. I had Umbra to worry about, and then Shadi came to tell us we had to go on that journey to get back. . . ."

Atem smiled a bit. "Umbra was lucky he had you with him."

"I was lucky too," Yugi exclaimed. "He saved me!"

"Really." Surprise flickered in Atem's eyes.

Yugi smiled and nodded. "And I wouldn't have even had the chance to come back if Lumis hadn't picked that option. They're both good guys."

"Yes," Atem mused. "They certainly are."

"Our group of friends just keeps getting bigger, and that's awesome all around for all of us," Yugi beamed. "We're all growing and getting closer, and we'll be strong enough to handle whatever disasters come our way."

"It does seem that we will be," Atem said. "But I still hope it will be some time before our next calamity."

Yugi finally sobered. "Yeah," he said, looking out through the skylight at the winter night. "I sure do too."

xxxx

The night passed peacefully, to everyone's relief. Come morning, they all journeyed to the airport to say Goodbye to the Paradox Brothers and Vivian.

"Let us know when you get there safe," Téa said.

"And when you get all these things locked away where they belong," Joey added.

"We most certainly will," said Para.

"But we will most likely ask you to pay the phone bill," Dox concluded.

"Sure," Yugi chuckled.

Vivian looked longingly at Lector. It was clear that she was debating something in her mind. Mai caught her eye and shook her head in warning, but Vivian didn't feel like listening.

"You know," she said at last, "this is a leap year. Do you know what that means?"

Mai's jaw dropped. She definitely did.

"Oh, give me a break," Téa scowled with a facepalm.

Lector, however, just frowned. "No, Miss Wong, I don't know."

Nesbitt and Seto also looked clueless. But they were sure that for Vivian to talk about it, it didn't bode well.

Vivian smiled. "There's a tradition where women can propose to men in leap years. Of course, that's completely ridiculous and they should propose whenever they feel like it, but still . . ."

"_No,_ Miss Wong!" Lector was staring, his voice firm.

Vivian was undaunted. "And if the proposal is refused, you have to pay a fine decided by the woman," she smirked. Before Lector could say anything to that, she climbed on a chair and bent down. "Goodbye, Darling," she told him, and suddenly kissed him on the lips before he had the chance to react.

"What are you _doing?!_" Nesbitt boomed.

Vivian just smiled and waved before jumping down from the chair and bounding through the gate. "Bye!"

Still in utter shock, Lector stared after her in complete disbelief.

"She knew he'd refuse!" Nesbitt cried, wildly pointing after her departing form. "She did that on purpose to steal a kiss!"

"I have this feeling she's not going to give up on Lector come Spring," Johnson groaned.

"Probably," Gansley grunted.

Crump was also stunned. But then he looked to Lector with wide eyes. "So what was that like?!" he exclaimed.

"It was completely intrusive and inappropriate!" Lector sputtered. "I don't know what I'm going to do with her!"

Yugi gave an awkward chuckle. "She is pretty hard to handle. I discovered that at Kaiba's tournament."

". . . Well, we should be getting to Penguin World for the day," Johnson said, wanting to change the subject, "and you kids had probably better get to school."

"I'd rather show Noa the penguins," Mokuba said. "But maybe we can come after school?"

"Sure," Crump said, although he didn't know how interested Noa would be in penguins.

Yugi sighed as they all headed for the exit and their vehicles. "I just hope things are going to settle down for a while," he declared. "We could all use a break."

"We sure could," Téa said.

"And who deserves it more than us?" Joey said. "For once we should be able to stop savin' the world and just enjoy it!"

"Makes sense to me," Tristan said.

Soon most of the group was talking at once, making various plans for fun things to do to just relax for a while. The Big Five fell back to just observe.

"Heh," Gansley smirked.

"They certainly have the ability to bounce back quickly from near-tragedies," Johnson remarked.

"But that won't last indefinitely," Nesbitt grunted in concern. "If things keep happening, eventually even they won't be able to take it anymore."

"Let's just hope things won't keep happening," Lector said. "That Shadi person said there would come a time of peace."

"But even he didn't know when!" Crump sighed.

"So for now we'll simply have to find enjoyment wherever and whenever we can," Gansley said.

"Right! And right now, that's with George and Sammy and all our other perfect penguins," Crump gushed. "And with each other, of course."

Lector smiled. "Always."

Nesbitt finally managed a gruff smile. He was still angry about Vivian's brazen behavior, and still worried about what would come at them in the future, but he certainly appreciated that they were all still together. Hopefully, no matter what perils they had yet to contend with, that would never change.

xxxx

Being absorbed into the darkness was not an enjoyable experience, at least not at first. But by now it had happened to him several times, and he had learned how to harness the darkness and make it bend to his will. He always emerged from it stronger than ever.

Of course, he was more than a little annoyed that his best efforts to sow disharmony had failed. All of those people were closer now than ever. He snarled. So many of his plans had backfired likewise. Was there no way to break up their happiness?

"Well, well. So once again you have failed."

He started. "Who's there? Where are you?"

"I am everywhere that darkness exists. I always have been and I always will be, because the darkness will always exist. The light can never extinguish it; the light wouldn't exist without it. No one would even know what the light is without the dark to counter it."

"Hmm." His lips started to curl in an intrigued smirk. "I know who you are."

"And I know you. What do you say we combine our forces to wreak havoc on the world?"

"You were once my enemy," he said.

"Partially. But we were both born from the darkness itself. Wouldn't it make more sense to be allies instead?"

He threw back his head and laughed.


End file.
